Reborn Again
by satsats201
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki for so many years of his life lived in the large black shadow of a past soaked in the blood of comrades and enemies alike, even before he could walk. But now there are people called friends at his side and a village to really call a safe haven, a home.
1. Chapter 1

All Naruto characters, names, and events present in this story is a copyright for the original creator. All other additional characters not affiliated with the original Naruto are under my copyright.

Chapter One

Naruto sat at home in the small kitchen if his single bedroom apartment. Hearing the high-pitched whistle of the silver kettle, he reached out and grabbed it by the handle. Peeling back the paper ramen lid, boiling water traveled through the spout into the cup. The blonde waited a minute before separating a wooden pair of chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu." Naruto slurped the noddles surrounded by the empty silence. Looking out the window into the blue sky his eyes saw the familiar faces of the hokages. There were the two Senjuu brothers who had founded Konoha, the third face being the master of the legendary Sanin, his father, and Tsunade. Their regal stone carvings overlooked the bustling village as if even if the previous kages died, their spirits still stood as protectors.

Naruto couldn't help but smile a little from that thought as gently breeze carried in through the window. Sai and Sakura appeared right then both wearing gear.

"Come on, Naruto, Kakashi sensei told us to come get you." Strong leaf green eyes stared at the eating form of her team mate. She couldn't help but feel a little bit of the loneliness the apartment home reflected. There was a minimal amount of furnishings inside which made it seem even more devoid of life. Next time, Sakura swore to herself that she would bring a gift. Maybe a potted plant would help, just something to give the place more life.

Sai on the other hand tried to come up with a nickname for Naruto. So he settled with, "Hey dumbass, let's get going soon." Having been freed of Danzo and the ROOT after the incident with Sasuke at Orochimaru's base, the pale nin had been learning how to better communicate with others. At first it started with physical gestures: hugs, punches to the arm, and slaps on the cheek. Sadly, the end result was always a hard punch to the face or just a slap. Either way his face ended up bruised for a couple of days.

Chugging down the remaining contents of the meal, Naruto sprang up from the chair. Paying no mind to the trash he was going to leave behind, he bounded through the window and gracefully landed to the ground. Stretching a bit by raising his fists to the air the other two members of team seven quickly followed. Naruto really does dance to the rhythm of his own drums.

Casually putting his hands behind his head, "So what does kakashi-sensei wants from us? Do we have some kind of new missions? Is it going to be about Sasuke?" Naruto asked curiously. He always asked that at every possible mission.

Sakura shook her head, pink hair swaying from side to side. "I know as much as you and Said do nothing. All sensei said was to gather at the north gate to be briefed about what we're doing. "There was a hint of underlying disappointment in the kunoichi's voice. How long has it been since Sasuke Uchiha decided to go rogue in order to take revenge on his brother for the death of his, no their, clan?

No one could forget that time when Naruto had been found unconscious at the valley by Kakashi Hatake. Rumors circulated for days before the official story became available to the general public. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had fought each other, only to end with the injuries of one and the disappearance of the other. Now Sasuke stands as a highly wanted missing ninja of the Hidden Leaf. To say that Team Seven was broken only described half of i Sasuke took an important piece of the team with him: the trust and friendship.

Silence fell on the trio afterwards and they made their way to the rendezvous point. There they saw the familiar spiky silver hair and black face mask.

Kakashi quickly filled his students in on them in on the mission before heading out. Team seven's job was to escort a nobleman across the border of fire country to the neighboring country in order. They weren't given any specific reason for the task but they completed it nonetheless.

When the two day mission came to an end and the quartet returned home, things became the same old routine again. Naruto couldn't help but want to find a little entertainment. This triggered his memories of days long past when he would prank every day. The most fun came from painting on the figure beads of the hokages and hearing the reactions of onlookers. Those were the good old days of ignorance and childhood naivety. And he began to wish that he could return to those... simpler days.

It was bearing evening, evident by the setting of the sun as it cast a bloody like ray to paint the sky. Naruto went to visit granny Tsunade just for someone to talk to while the day became replaced by the cold night.

Knocking on the door to her office Tsunade only paused for a second from her paperwork to say, "Come in, Naruto" before continuing.

Opening the wooden door than peeking in first, the teen couldn't help but smile brightly. "Having fun, Granny?" A grimace was the only answer he got from the busty woman. Snickering just a bit he sat on the floor cross legged. The room became absolutely quiet except for the scribbling of pen and rustle of paper. That's the one beautiful part of the office. There were no distracting or unnecessary sounds to ruin a person's train of thought. This place gave one time to think about the events that have unfolded or even give a sort of breather by escaping the noise of the outside world.

Shizune came in a couple of times with a tray with a pair of tea cups before retiring to her room for the night. She looked tired, being the assistant for the hokage and a highly called on medical ninja.

"So naruto, what do you want to talk about today?" Tsunade finally finished, massaging her tires hands a little before fully focusing on the boy who reminded her so much of her deceased love and brother. She had developed a soft spot for this energized youth when he surpassed all her expectations that week after the first meeting when orochimaru made a surprise entrance once again into her life. Had it not been for Naruto, she may not be here, or better yet, Konoha would no be here.

Naruto lay down on the floor to stare at the ceiling. Light slowly began to disappear from the room. What was he here for? "Ne, Granny, do you think-" A spark of bright light outside the windows blinded the two completely being taken off guard. Rubbing his eyes, Naruto heard yelling and suddenly felt a hand grab the front of his head. The rough and callused hand swiftly brought his head up and just as quickly slammed it with a resounding crack.

Tsunade heard the crack and grew angry. "Show yourself cowards. Or are you too much of cowards to face me?" Taunting didn't seem to draw them out. Gleams of weapons glittered at the corner of her eyes as the fifth expertly dodged them. Dodging such weapons was child's play to the woman. Shooting out at the attackers, she quickly took them all down with finesse even before her eyes became fully adjusted. Rushing over to Naruto, she found that he had a fractured skull but no damage to the brain or any other parts of the body.

Sighing in relief, Tsunade started to heal him. Naruto's eyes flickered open and ice blue eyes stared at the light brown of the Hokage.

"Are you okay?" was the first thing out of the kid's mouth. That earned him a gentle smile and single nod.

No one else but the jounins, elders, and Naruto knew about the incident last night. Tsunade had demanded that the attack stay a secret until further information could be obtained on how the intruders managed to infiltrate the village and get near the office.

Everyone expressed their concern for the safety of not only Tsunade but also that of the entire village. The dangers were all too real. If the attackers had managed to surprise even the fifth than there was no telling how capable they would be at killing innocent lives in the dead of night. Risks were rising with every moment that passed and it took all that Tsunade stood for not to form search teams. There was no need to create further unrest among anyone at the moment, not with the already standing threats being faced.

So in the end the verdict was made final. The incident would remain on the down low for now. But little did Naruto expect that this would mark the beginning of his chaotic destiny.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Tensions arose among the higher-ups and precautions were quickly placed. More Anbu patrols became stationed within the even more secure walls of the headquarters of the Leaf village. Tsunade was up to her eyeballs in paperwork and bodyguards. Every person who entered and left the building were questioned and searched. Every window and door secured with a key. The place reflected more of a jail than anything else.

Naruto had been sent to the hospital just in case. Though Tsunade managed to stop the bleeding and heal the fracture the doctors still felt that it was necessary to keep him under further observations. So that place ended up being where the young boy slept for the next two nights. Friends came in almost every hour of the day just to check in on him before getting back to other duties. The one's who visited more of course were those of Team Seven. They brought him manga, ramen (secretly), and talked about the happenings outside of the four walled room.

A couple of times too, the intelligence unit came in to question him on what he had seen and heard the night of the attack. Everything was still a little foggy considering the fact that through most of the incident, Naruto had been lying on the floor bleeding with an injury impairing his senses. All he could say was that the attackers were all men, pretty strong, skilled in infiltration, and had come out of nowhere. Because of the blinding amount of light that temporarily made both the Jinchurukii and Hokage blind, they could only make out the shapes of the intruders. The men were heavily set, obviously training their bodies every day to maintain such fitness, and looked to have worn masks to conceal their identities. This seemed to put the unit at a dead end for the information was vague at best.

Once considered "healthy" enough to be released from the hospital confines, Naruto speedily traveled to Granny Tsunade in hopes of seeing her condition. Even if the others had told him that she looked and seemed healthy, he wanted to confirm with his own eyes the truth of the matter. Eyes cannot see everything.

Bursting through the door, slamming it against the wall, Naruto stood just outside the frame before jumping inside with as much energy as possible. Tsunade didn't look surprised at the sudden intrusion. She had already heard him coming since he left the hospital because of a report from one of the dozen Anbu present around the village just for her.

"Granny Tsunade! Are you okay?!"

Shaking her head and with an amused smile, the seemingly young woman stood up from her chair and went to stand in front of him, just to reassure him that nothing was wrong. "I'm fine, Naruto. Calm down will you. The only one that got hurt was those guys and you." A relieved look passed and plastered onto the boy's face, settling there for the duration of time he continued to stay in the room. Night fell once again.

A week passed by soon after. Nothhing eventful happened and the Anbu slowly dissolved into just a handful watching over Lady Tsunade. Tensions dwindled down till it looked like Konoha will continue to see some more peaceful days. Sadly, Mother Nature begged to differ and the quiet village experienced a heavy rainstorm. Water levels began to rise in the rivers and solid grounds became heavily mudded terrain. Everyone found it hard to travel along these paths so trading activities slowed immensely.

Thunder drummed away and lightning danced across the sky to the rhythm. Rain pelted the roofs and windows and people still left on the wet streets. Flooding was a highly possible risk. And from the windows of Tsunade's office were Shizune, Tsunade, and Naruto. There was nothing else to do except sit around talking. However, it started to grow late and Naruto though it best to leave for home. So saying goodbye to the two women, he sent out the windows and into the darkness, home.

And from somewhere within that darkness were the darkly clad figures of the wanted criminals who had assaulted him and Tsunade not but a week ago. They had found the opportunity of using the storm as a cover-up to finish up the job. By killing the Kage of the Hidden Leaf, suspicions would arise and cause nations to point fingers at one another while the real culprits made their escape. A fourth war would break out and the five nations would destroy each other, allowing for the next generation to take over. New villages and people could arise from the ashes of their predecessors, and a new age of rule can be born. The men smiled evil grins at the prospective future shining so close in front of them. Just kill the Hokage swiftly, escape, and they would be home free.

With that goal in mind, the men passed under the noses of the cold, soaking, irritated Anbu and into the darkened halls of the building. Finding it fitted them best to disguise themselves as members of the village, they create the hand signals.

"**Henge.**" They whispered. A puff of smoke surrounded them before they emerged once again. There stood Naruto and Sakura, smiling. The other men chose to be weapons concealed within the weapon pouches. All of them had seen enough of the two to understand how to talk and act around the Hokage, to seem like the originals. That week spent not attacking was spent observing.

For the last step, they would have to wipe out not only the Kage but her assistant as well. This would pose a problem seeing that the woman had been trained by Tsunade herself and is already a medical ninja, which put them at a disadvantage. Thinking through the plan once more, they revised a couple of things before being satisfied enough to continue on.

There was a womanly scream and sounds of struggle. Lightning flashed by the window and illuminated the room long enough for Tsunade to suck in a breath. Standing in front of her with a kunai in hand was Naruto, blue eyed, blonde, and in his signature jumper, grinning. Sadly the man who had transformed into Sakura lay injured already on the ground of the office floor still breathing. Shizune was not far from the fallen body, bleeding and unconscious with heavy wounds, mainly from her abdomen and neck.

With a cold hard glare at Naruto, she sneered. "Why Naruto?!" Her senses had become dull enough that she could not recognize that the person standing in front of her was not the person she was questioning. "You left, I saw you leave. But this, this is what you do instead?!" She gestured at Shizune. "You're going to kill me and Shizune. And for what?! For what reason are you doing this?! Have you finally lost your mind to that Demon Fox in you?!"

'Naruto' merely laughed at her. That hardy laugh once full of mischief and fun now seemed foreign to the kage. He pounced on her and struggles continued between the two. The imposter managed to hold off Tsunade enough that he gained an upper hand long enough to immobilize her. With a quick punch to the nose, palm jam upward on the jaw, and some jabs at the stomach, Tsunade went down with eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"Perfect. Just stay like that Granny Tsunade. It won't be long till this is all over for you and we'll even let you sleep through all of it."

The lights were flipped on and a hiss of annoyance escaped through the mouth of 'Naruto'. Looking up, there was Anbu corps with weapons raised along with Gai, Kakashi, Shikimaru's father, and the Torture and Interrogation Force commander. The looks of utter shock at seeing a fellow Leaf shinobi being the perpetrator left them speechless. So using that time of confusion, the imposter jumped back and out the window unscathed, running through the night.

"After him! Do not let him escape the village at all costs. I want Naruto Uzumaki captured!" Was the order yelled that echoed into the chilly, windswept night.

Meanwhile in his home, peacefully washing his clothing in the bathroom sink, white shirt and blue boxer on, was the real Naruto. He hummed away at a song out of key and out of the beat but still with a smile on his face. Next thing he knew, the door to his apartment was kicked off the hinges. Black gloved hands shot out to grab him.

"Ahhhh!" Naruto looked up to find the white animal mask of the Anbu staring down at him as a cold sweat began to form. "What's going on? Why are you here?"

"Naruto, be quiet." The voice of his teacher spoke out from the darkness that seemed to grow even blacker. "You are under arrest for the attempted murder of the Hokage." The last part was spoken in a quiet whisper, so quiet that it took Naruto a moment to process.

Eyes growing wide and his struggles becoming more increased, he couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips. "What! Why would I attack Granny Tsunade of all people?" Attempting to shake of the hands around his arms, "Where is she?!"

"Where is who?"

"Granny Tsunade! She will tell you that I didn't do it! I've been at home since twenty minutes ago!"

Kakashi wanted to reach out a hand to Naruto and tell the Anbu to realease him, but the commander placed a firm hand on his right shoulder and brushed past him. It was a subtle warning not to do what the sensei so desperately wanted to do. This could not end up as a repeat of what happened to his last student, of what had happened to Sasuke. He had not been there to save him from Orochimaru but losing another student would probably be the breaking point for him.

The man, burly and intimidating, leaned down to Naruto's level and fixed him with a steely look. "Naruto Uzumaki, you will be put in level 5 holding until the morning when you will be judged in front of the elders and council, where they will decide your fate. And pray to God that they have enough mercy on you." Then with a single punch to his stomach, Naruto was knocked out cold, diving into the oblivion of sleep and carried to the cells with the howls of wolves far off in the distance being the only sound heard from miles around.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Standing in the middle of the room, morning daylight streaming through one little window space available, Naruto could feel the effects of not having slept for the last eighteen hours. Murmurs rippled around him as his chakra cuffs irritated his wrists. They had to make sure he was fully immobilized because of his power.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you stand here before the council and elders on the charge of the attempted murder not only of the Fifth Hokage but also of her attendant, Shizune. What do you have to say of this?" Koharu Utatane asked.

Clenching his teeth, Naruto held himself back from snapping at the old woman. "I'm telling you, I didn't do it! I was framed or something! I was at home the whole time while everything happened!"

Remaining indifferent, Homura Mitokado merely waved off the information as if it were an annoying fly buzzing in his face. "Well it would be possible for someone as yourself, Uzumaki, to be able to pull off a feat such as this." The room became silent. "You had stolen the Forbidden Jutsu scroll years before and learned the **Kage bunshin no Jutsu**. So how is it not possible for you to have created a shadow clone of yourself and kept him in the shadows until your original body left? From there the clone could freely enter the vicinity and walk through the halls without question, allowing you access to not only attack the Hokage but also allow accomplices into the building."

This made him freeze. It wasn't just a single person disguised as him that hurt Granny Tsunade but more people. The guy had a team working on this for who knows how long and who knows for what purpose. "I didn't do it." He repeated. "Why would I hurt Granny Tsunade? There's no reason for me to do that. All that happened between me, her, and Shizune is that we talked for a couple hours. When I realized that it was getting really late out and the storm wasn't slowing down, I decided to go home and eat some ramen."

"Then why was it reported that you were found washing your clothes? Trying to get rid of the evidence of blood?"

"No! I…"

"You what?" The rest of the council leaned in closer to hear his answer.

Swallowing back his pride, Naruto grudgingly answered. "I haven't done laundry in a couple of weeks…" His voice was a whisper, embarrassment painting red across his cheeks as he refused to make eye contact with anyone in fear of being laughed at. Sometimes being a ninja took too much time to allow one to wash their clothes.

A struggled cough escaped the mouth of Kakashi, standing in the corner of the room alongside Gai. Neither could hide the internal battle of holding back the laughs that so badly wanted to escape.

Koharu and Homura didn't find the situation the least bit funny and shot a glare in the direction of the two laughing Jounin, shutting them up. Another wave of silence passed over the group before Koharu cleared her throat. "The decision has been unanimously named." Of course, the trial was only a farce. The decision had been made long before Naruto reached his holding cells last night.

Naruto held his breath, Kakashi and Gai held their breaths, and even the air in the room seemed to still. "Naruto Uzumaki, we the council, find you… guilty."

The shock froze his body as Naruto was carried off by Anbu out the door back into Level 5 holding, back into the cemented and steel barred cell. He said nothing, only walking with the guided hands of people who found him as an enemy… an enemy that would face execution.

Kakashi sat with his face in his hands. "Dear god." He whispered mainly to himself. Sitting in the office of the main holding cell building, everything that had just happened swirled in his head like a tornado. How could Naruto do this? Didn't he respect Lady Tsunade? What had gone wrong?

Gai stood at the back of the couch, watching his friend slowly sink into sadness and disappointment and guilt. This was hard for him, he knew. One student lost to Orochimaru for revenge and now another for a reason still unknown to them all. How could he help fix this situation? "Kakashi, buck up. This is the youth of our lives we are spending away. We just need to find a way to clear Naruto's name, from there things will get better." He flashed his signature twinkling white smile but was failed to be seen.

The silver haired man shook his head from behind his hands. "No, the evidence is clear, Gai. Naruto did it." The evidence proved everything, it was him. It was Naruto of all the people possible. "How else could Lady Tsunade have been attacked so suddenly? And the last person to see her or Shizune last night was Naruto. Only Naruto could have been able to attack them out of nowhere and knock them unconscious, to put them both in a coma. There's no other possible suspect but him." Gai stayed silent to that. It's true, a bitter sort of truth.

"It could have only been Naruto, the clone, the strength, the chakra. All of it could only be Naruto."

"Get up, traitor!"

It wasn't the loud voice that jolted him awake, it was the word used against him. 'Traitor'. An ugly word that Naruto never thought he would be called. Where did things start to go wrong for him?

"I said get up!" The man yelled again. Ibiki Morino stood tall, the two scars across his face more pronounced than before. Being the leader of the Torture and Interrogation Force, there were no laugh lines visible. "Today's the day when a traitor dies." His voice remained leveled but the eyes showed the hatred and disgust churning inside. Naruto flinched.

"No, not those eyes, anything but those eyes, please."

A smirk appeared before disappearing as Ibiki made a sign for the Anbu to take Naruto away, to take him to the death that awaits all those branded with the name of traitor.

Naruto's POV

I couldn't help it when my hands started to shake like a leaf. Not only was I going to die but I was going to die as a traitor and those eyes… those eyes being the last thing I remember. My eyes looked up to see the faces of the past kages, especially my dad, and they had those same eyes as Morino. The hatred and disgust made me shudder even though the afternoon was pretty warm. Where did things go wrong?

When I got pushed onto the platform, I saw that there was a crowd. So this is how I am going to go? I was going to be mocked first in front of all these people staring at me with accusatory eyes. I didn't hurt Granny Tsunade but no one here believed me, not even my own sensei. Then it suddenly hit me like the punch Morino gave me to knock me out.

No matter how many good things I do, no matter how many lives I save, and no matter how true to myself I am, isolation would be the only thing waiting for me in the end. After all these years when I thought everyone had gotten over the fact that I am the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox there was still that same anger, same disgust, same hatred. They had lied to themselves and lied to me. Nothing has changed. The only thing that changed is the fact that everyone could hide those emotions under layers of smiles and compliments. Was I really appreciated and wanted by this village than?

Talking died down when Morino stood next to me and Anbu flanked all sides of me. "Today," His voice carried out. "We rid ourselves of a traitor. Today, we put the man who dared to harm our Hokage in his place. Death is the only retribution." Cheers erupted. There really was no mercy for anyone, especially a person like me.

I clenched my fists and looked down at my feet. Tears threatened to start but I fought them back. I would not cry because I know that I am innocent. I am.

"Kill him! He doesn't deserve to live!"

"You damn fox bastard! You should have died a long time ago!"

"I knew you were a curse on this village!"

"No one wants you here! You traitor!"

"You're no worse than that damned Sasuke Uchiha!

"You deserve to rot in hell alongside Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, you devil child!"

Insults kept flying and the crowd only grew more in size. Looking up, I suddenly saw the sad eyes of Sakura and the cold eyes of Sai. When I tried to call out to them, they only turned around and were swallowed up by the crowd. They looked so disappointed in me.

"You're a freak, a loser, and unwanted child!" The crowd began to chant it loud. "Not even your parents would want you. You're a disgrace to them and a disgrace to this village." And that's when it happened. Something in me snapped. The last string of calmness I had left to keep me going broke. I breathed faster and faster, heart racing, and the world started to blur around the edges. Disgrace. Freak. Traitor. Curse. Demon. My teeth elongated and sharpened into daggers, claws formed, and I felt my temperature rise.

I broke free of my cuffs and growled, jumping back onto the face of my father on the side of the mountain. Everything seemed so far away from my conscious now. The crowd hushed though. No one made a move and my eyes scanned each face. I knew all of them, saw them walking around the village smiling at me. Some of the faces belonged to my friends but were they even that anymore? There were the faces of the other team's senseis that held up weapons ready to defend the defenseless public. Why? Why do you defend them when I'm the victim?! That's what I wanted to scream out to them but it would only be a pointless waste of air.

With a roar, I launched myself over the group and into the forest with pursuers not far behind me. A shuriken hit me on my back; at least five more followed the first one. The last managed to make me lose balance on the tree branch and fall into a field. It was a field with lush green grass, some giant rocks and a single tree standing lonely in the middle. I rolled down and got back onto my feet after hitting the base of the tree. The shuriken continued to dig into my back after rolling over them a couple of times.

Hissing through the pain, I staggered back a little as Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Shikimaru's dad, and a couple Anbu stood poised to take me down.

"That's enough, Naruto. There is no point in running. This only further proves your guilt at the crime you committed." Ibiki spoke out when he came walking out from behind a tree. How it hid his massive body remains a mystery. "Just calm down and face your punishment like a man. Only a guilty coward runs."

I growled at him. "I am no coward and I am no traitor. I didn't do it; I didn't hurt Granny Tsunade or Shizune."

Ibiki tensed. "Do not disrespect Lady Tsunade. You dare to call her in such a friendly matter when not too long ago, you attempted to kill her in cold blood." His muscles coiled, I could see it. He was prepared to kill me right now. I need to escape; I need to get out of here, before I die.

I took another step back but the shurikens made me feel stiff. Damn it, I need to get these things out of me. I'm losing blood. "I'm not going back. Not until I find the real guy who did this, the guy who framed me. And even when I do find the guy and bring him back, I'm not staying around here anymore."

Kakashi stared at me; I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every move. But I don't care. Someone out there hurt Granny Tsunade but they also exposed how the villagers and even how my own team felt about me. I wanted justice, not just for myself. Who knows, they could always come back and repeat this process all over again. There's nothing stopping them from doing just that.

"I know now how this village feels about me now, how you all feel about me." No one spoke out at me. No one tried to even defend themselves on the views I pointed out. "I am a reminder of a past they want to forget, I am the reminder of the lives lost and bloodshed. You all see only the past when you look at me, even before all of this happened. None of you saw me for me." I didn't even need to ask them the truth of that accusation because I could see it in their eyes, even Iruka-sensei. All those words of kindness and support were fake, lies to make me stay because I was a Jinchuriki, a weapon who would gratefully serve them because I was naïve enough to believe them. How could I have been so blind?

"Be happy then, you won't have to see me, think of me as being as good as dead. But I am not going to die, not until I bring in the real guy who hurt the Hokage and kill him myself. I'm going to make sure I enjoy killing him because it doesn't matter anymore what happens to me. I'm a monster." And as they lowered their arms, I turned around and started to escape but I looked back one more time. "And I'll live up to that name. That, I can promise you all."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

He wandered for days, through the forests, sands, marshes. Every now and then he would stop to rest and eat. But no more time was wasted. Naruto searched every village not directly in contact with ninja villages. But there were no definite descriptions of the men who had attacked. The boy was practically trailing behind a ghost. Frustration continued to build up inside.

Lying on the floor of the abandoned home, Naruto stared at the molded brown ceiling. Slamming a fist down on the floor he sighed and rolled onto his side. "How the hell am I going to do this?" There were no traces, no descriptions, no nothing. The only way to find them would be to… To what?

Sadly there was no chance of going back to Konoha to retrieve his things. His clothes were covered in layers of muck, grime, and other disgusting things that were best left unidentified. Naruto had no money to buy food so he was forced to hunt down small game and cook them over a fire. But could he continue to hunt every day? What about in the winter when there are only so few animals left to consume?

"Damn it, damn it, damn it." He chanted low under his breath when footsteps from downstairs forced him to sit up. He raised a kunai. Slowly and quietly getting up, he slid his back next to the open door. His breathing quieted down.

The footsteps came closer and closer to the entryway when Naruto jumped the intruder and held the blade to the struggling person's throat. "Who are you? And why are you here? This place is abandoned. No one should be living here."

The captive wheezed out, "Get off me, you're the person who should be threatened right now. You're invading my hideout. Didn't you see the sign on the front door?" Being held down beneath him was a boy around his age, fifteen or sixteen with dark blue hair and a pair of angry looking equally dark blue eyes.

Naruto got off him but never looked away. "In case you didn't notice, there was no front door." It's true, it had been ripped off and taken somewhere else because no matter how hard he looked, there was no door anywhere on the property fitting the front. "But I'm sorry."

Blue hair sneered but didn't make a move to leave the room or attack. "I guess I'm sorry too since I didn't notice the door off. Guess that's why you didn't know anything."

The two sat there for a little longer staring each other down in silence that could be cut with a knife and eaten. A bird chirped outside the window tapping the windows that were somehow still intact. "Can you get that for me?"

Naruto gave him a look. "What?"

"Can you let the bird in?" The guy stared at him as if Naruto were an idiot for not understanding what he asked for. So Naruto did just that, opening the window with a grunt and allowing the tiny sparrow inside. The bird landed on the floor and with a puff of smoke, was replaced by a girl with long brown hair reaching to just above her waist. Green eyes that reminded him so much of Sakura looked back at him.

"Who's he, Nobuo?"

Nobuo replied, "A stranger." Blunt and to the point was his best point. "But he seems alright. So there's no need to be so suspicious, Suzume."

Naruto exchanged glances with the girl before saying hello.

Suzume took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Who are you?"

Debating whether or not to reveal who he really is in fear that Konoha may have filed a bingo target on his head, Naruto answered, "Tsutomu."

"You're lying." They scolded in unsion. Neither Nobuo or Suzume trusted the blonde. He looked powerful, someone with a secret no less on the way he avoided answering something as simple as his name. "Now tell us the truth or else things aren't going to go well for you."

Grimacing, "Naruto….Naruto Uzumaki."

Nobuo looked shocked. "You mean the dude that is currently wanted by Konoha and the Sand Village too? That Naruto is you? Man, you look a lot scarier on those posters."

The blonde nodded, feeling a little scrutinized by a certain bird girl. "Alright then, you can stay around a little longer than I guess."

"What?" Nobuo and Naruto were caught off guard.

Suzume smacked Nobuo on the back of his head. "Can't you see the poor guy's being hunted down by his own village? We have to give him help, don't be so cold Nobuo." Nobuo in turn pouted and voiced his opinion of this being a very bad idea. "Pay no attention to him, he may act tough but he really isn't."

"Hey! I am tough!"

Rolling her eyes, Suzume kindly smiled at Naruto. "Are you hungry? We have some food if you want some."

"Sure… Thanks."

"No problem, you're our guest." She reached down to the floor boards and lifted one that looked like it was secure but it popped out easily. There was a load of food down there, especially cup ramen. Naruto stared at it and felt he start to drool, his stomach agreeing with the excitement of seeing ramen after all this time of hiding. Suzume laughed lightly. "I'll heat some water then. I'll be right back and until then, Nobuo." He looked up at the sound of his name from drawing something on a piece of paper. "Play nice, okay?"

A begrudging "yes" was the satisfying answer she got before walking downstairs, probably to heat up the water in a kettle Naruto had seen previously. Once again there was an awkward silence hanging over the two strangers.

Nobuo, staying true to his word for Suzume, asked, "Why does your village want you anyways?"

Naruto sighed, a long one that carried with it a heavy weight. "I got framed." Nobuo didn't interrupt. "The Hokage and her attendant were attacked by some mysterious group and obviously one of them was disguised as me. They attempted to kill them both."

"Attempted?"

"Yeah, they didn't get to finish the job. All that came out of it was they are now in a coma and no one knows when they'll wake up. Somehow those guys did something to their mind… Something hard to reverse.

Nobuo tilted his head back and leaned it against the wall. "Why do they think it's you though? It doesn't make any sense. You sound and look innocent to me."

Naruto smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, I am innocent. But no one back in Konoha believes me. It's because I was the last one to see either of them right before the attack and because I know how to perform the shadow clone jutsu. Apparently, I made a shodw clone of myself and left it behind while I went home, than the clone let in the rest of the attackers and you know how the rest went."

"One more question though, one that I've been curious about for a lot longer than this wanted thing."

"What?"

Nobuo looked right into his eyes, serious. He sat up straight, "Are you really the Jinchuriki of the kyuubi?"

Suzume returned back upstairs with a hot kettle, boiling water popping inside. Naruto handed her the ramen cup and she poured into it. When she realized how weird the atmosphere was in the room, that's when her eyes went from Nobuo to Naruto and back to nobuo. "What did you do this time, Nobuo? Did you insult Naruto?"

Nobuo looked shocked at the accusation. "No, we actually had a decent conversation, thank you very much. God, stop being such a mother."

Ignoring his last complaint, Suzume bent down and looked at Naruto. "Are you okay? Want me to beat some sense in Nobuo for you. I know it wouldn't seem right for you to do it but just one word and I will have your back." He smiled at that.

"Thanks but really, he didn't do anything wrong." Naruto defended Nobuo, seeing him pouting behind Suzume's back. ""We were just having a talk and I guess we hit a sensitive topic for the both of us."

She immediately knew what it was. Having heard the rumors concerning a Jinchuriki in Konoha who guarded the Nine Tailed Fox, it became obvious to her who the Jinchuriki was. Naruto had a certain aura about him, something gently and bright but there was another energy that sizzled beneath the surface. Energy filled with that of darkness and evil. "You're him, aren't you?" Suzume only wanted to confirm it. He could only nod, too afraid of her reaction to the breaking news. But the only thing there was the same old kind smile.

"Don't worry, I don't hate you and I don't judge you." Standing up and stretching a bit, "That is all the past, a past you had no control over. Plus, you weren't even involved in those incidents."

A stray tear trailed down Naruto's face. Nobuo started to panic at the sight. "See! Look what you did Suzume! You made him cry!" Panicking, he pulled out a worn out rag. Holding it out for Naruto to take, "Here, wipe your face there's snot coming down." His voice held sincerity and care.

Taking the rag and blowing his nose, Naruto gave Nobuo back the rag. "Thanks."

Nobuo with a faltering smile took the rag from his one hand with the other using the thumb and forefinger. "You… you welcome. Just… Please don't snot again." Then the two boys laughed. Suzume joined in not long after. The fun carried off into the night and throughout the next couple of days.

A gently kick hit Naruto in the back as an annoying voice woke him from his peaceful dream. "Oi, wake up. Come on, Naruto. We've got to get moving." Nobuo had been trying to wake up the idiot for five minutes. The thing is that he won't wake up and Suzume wasn't around to help him. "Geez."

Naruto smiled in his sleep, enjoying the torture he was giving his new found friend. "Done yet, Nobuo? I can keep this up all day." A clicking of the tongue was the only reply to the question. Laughing, he sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Alright, alright, calm down. I'm getting up. Relax, would you."

Rolling his eyes, Nobuo leaned against the wall with arms crossed, patiently waiting for Naruto to get on his feet. The three of them were travelling together now, wanting to help clear Naruto and bring his name to justice. According to local rumors, the Hokage was still out cold but her attendant had confirmed that the person she saw attacking Lady Tsunade was indeed Naruto.

"Where's Suzume?" Naruto cut off Nobuo from his train of thought. "Is she out somewhere or something?"

Nobuo, realizing that Naruto was asking him a question, looked at him. "Huh? Oh, yeah. She's out making sure that the coast is clear for us to get moving. Your posters are now all over the place and people are realizing who you are at every town you passed to get here." And realizing how distressed his blonde companion looked, Nobuo added, "But no one here has realized who you are quite yet. Most of the ninja villages don't bother to check places so far out from them like here. We still have time to get away."

Relief allowed Naruto's tense shoulders to relax. "Good. I don't want this to be any harder than it already is."

"You can say that twice."

"Okay, I don't wan-"

"I didn't mean it for real, idiot!"

Suzume came back, relaying the information and the trio headed off in the direction of the east. None of them really knew where they were at, especially Naruto. He had felt that he was going around in circles before finding this place and the two residents.

Stopping every now and again, they never stayed long in one place. Sometimes they would spend nights under the star filled sky up in the trees or in any abandoned building big enough to house the three until morning. It wasn't until Suzume once again changed to a sparrow and took off into town that news reached her animal ears. Apparently, the man that had been found unconscious in the office along with Lady Tsunade and Shizune had been questioned.

Right before he exploded from some fail switch jutsu, he revealed that he was a part of some renegade ninja group looking to rebuild on the ashes of the old, the Black Phoenix organization. Now they had a lead.

"Don't worry Naruto, you're just one step away from getting those guys." Suzume thought to herself as she flew away, triumphant.

When she arrived though, the two were arguing with each other. She sighed internally. There was no end to these two. Every time she took her eyes off them, they were just at each other like a cat and dog. "Alright boys. Play time is over. So be quiet or else, you won't get this important information that makes a big difference in this mission." That shut them up immediately. "Thought so."

"Tell us already, Suzume." Naruto said, Nobuo standing next to him with an equally intense look in his eyes. "What did you find out?"

Suzume nodded, "I found out the name. It makes it pretty easy to find the guys." They nodded. "The Black Phoenix. Have either one of you heard of them?"

Nobuo shook his head. "Sounds like a new organization if even Konoha don't know about them. But where would we even find them?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "That's the only problem left. Sure they want to destroy the structure we have now in the shinobi world and we know their names, but their location is still unknown. Apparently, before anymore information could be taken out of the guy they had, he just exploded. A fail switch must have been placed on him to keep him from talking."

"That means we are dealing with people who actually know what they're doing… Mostly know what they are doing actually." Naruto started to pace back and forth. "Alright, we have to find a way to locate them. It's important. Who knows what else they'll do now that they are getting some recognition for what they did. You know how bad guys are."

Nobuo smirked. "Yeah, give them a little bit of props for what they did and they suddenly get an ego boost the size of the ocean."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

On their travels Naruto, Suzume, and Nobuo got to meet a variety of different characters. Each had their own stories and reasons for being the people they were. There were a couple of contract killers, single mothers, elders without homes, and men who lost everything from stupid mistakes. Each story held a message, a life message that the three teens thought over. Than on a warm night with cicadas buzzing outside the torn down cabin, Nobuo came up with a seemingly ridiculous idea.

"I've got it!" He exclaimed in happiness, smiling happily. He couldn't help but feel proud about thinking of this idea.

"What is it, Nobuo?" Suzume inquired, intrigued at his sudden excitement so late in the night. She shook Naruto awake, waking him up in the middle of a snore.

"Alright, remember all those people that we talked to over the past few days?"

"Yeah."

A twinkle in his eyes worried the two listeners. "How about… We make our own clan or better yet, our own village!"

Naruto stared at him with sleepy eyes, covering his mouth with his hands as a yawn came out. Suzume on the other hand understood every word the blue head said and squealed. Jumping up and down now, "You're brilliant Nobuo! That is the smartest idea you've ever come up with! I knew you weren't that big of an idiot."

"Yeah, I know ri- Hey!" He stopped momentarily but let the insult slide and celebrated alongside his friend. There were enough people suffering out there hoping for a second chance that it would be easy to find people who were willing to take the idea into consideration. All they needed was a land for them and things would work out just fine afterward.

"I think I know the best place." Naruto chimed in, now fully conscious of the party for two happening in front of him. He explained his past then, of his father and mother, and especially about the Land of Whirlpool. Sure it was destroyed but not the land itself. Plus it was a safe location with a naturally flowing river, abundant trees, and animals still present even though the rest of the inhabitants of the island itself moved away. "There could be some structures left that we could build off of from. Start things up from the old stuff left over. A way of recycling what my ancestors left behind in the destruction."

Nobuo and Suzume exchanged looks. "See, even Naruto can be smart like you sometimes, Nobuo."

"Hey!"

Making their rounds to the previous people they each encountered, it was simple to convince them to give the idea of starting the Land of Whirpool up once again. The ironic thing about this is that some of the people are descendants of those last people who managed to escape the massacre of the country. This meant that at least some of the old bloodlines of the Whirlpool would return home once again to their rightful land. A total of 26 people including Suzume, Nobuo, and Naruto were braving the whirlpools to establish a new home. Some of the people had boats capable of handling the amount of passengers, so they chose to brave the power of the pools. Thanks to Nobuo's talent with water ninjutsu, all three boats managed to escape the treacherous pass to land on the beach shore of the land of Whirlpool.

Seeing the ruins of his mother's home, Naruto felt a little sad at seeing what had happened to the home she loved so dearly. Crumbled mounds of what had once been buildings scattered across the land showed how horrible the battle had been. He knelt to the ground and put his hand to the soft dirt. "I'm home."

Everyone saw the touching moment and stayed hushed, even the children, as they watched the exchange between the boy who would become their leader and the land they would call home.

Suzume felt compelled to interrupt Naruto with his reunion, "Naruto, we need to find everyone shelter. We don't know what the nights are like out here, being surrounded by rapidly moving water. Plus, there is one woman currently pregnant. We can't risk her health or the health of her child."

Naruto understood. "Alright, maybe we can find some materials to make a temporary cabin or something. Maybe use a tarp as a roof for now until tomorrow."

Hearing the conversation, Nobuo called out to all the men asking for help building the shelter. Suzume took charge of the elderly, children, and women. She found them a shaded area beneath a large tree standing in the middle of the dirt area. "Everyone who isn't helping Nobuo, please follow me and find some nice place to sit under the tree over there." She pointed with a finger and led them all. The children laughed and giggled past her, running to the tree as concerned mothers scolded their children. The elders were slowly walking behind the group, enjoying the fresh ocean air that gave this island a beautiful trait.

"This place is wonderful. I could imagine myself dying peacefully here." An older gentleman looked around at the tranquil nature. Time had been kind to the island.

As the sun began to set in the distant horizon, Naruto, Nobuo, and the rest of the men had finished building the temporary buildings out of trees they cut down. The trees had been on the outskirts of the dirt clearing so they only cut them down to expand the open space a bit more.

The building in the center belonged to the woman and children, the left to the men, and right to the elderly. Naruto, Suzume, and Nobuo chose to stay outside incase of any animal attacks or possible human inhabitants present on the island. All of the citizens objected, saying that the duty should be shared but were denied when the children started to doze off.

Staring up at the sky the night stars seemed to shine even brighter than before. "Is it because we're in a place where there aren't so many people here to pollute the air around here that we can see so clearly?" Suzume questioned.

"Maybe, or maybe because of how things are going to be different and the stars are as excited as we are tonight." Nobuo imagined the stars cheering them on from up in the sky.

Naruto laughed at the idea. "Yeah, maybe that's why."

A flap of the flap door being lifted and set down jolted the three into attention. From out of the shadows came a little boy, barely six who had lost both his parents a couple of months ago to thieves. He had been taken in by his kind aunt who already had three children of her own with a husband having to work all hours of the day and night to support the family.

Rubbing his eyes and sucking his thumb, the little boy named Kioshi walked up to Suzume and snuggled up to her, sitting in her lap. Naruto and Nobuo couldn't help but snicker at the cuteness and innocence. Kioshi was quiet and reserved even for a six year old but when it came to Suzume, he was as bold as any other kid.

"Seems like someone has an admirer, don't you think Naruto?" Nobuo teased.

Naruto rubbed his chin, "I would most definitely agree with you, Nobuo. I hear wedding bells in the future."

Suzume gave both of them a sneer. "First off, he is not an admirer; he just has a good taste in people and chose me over you two. Second, I would not marry someone ten years younger than me, thank you very much. He is more of a younger brother than anything." She moved some of his swirly black hair out of the boys face. Kioshi continued to suck his thumb while sleeping but still looked so cute. "Do you guys think this will all work out though?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

Nobuo stuck out his legs. "Don't underestimate my plan, this will work out. Anyways we can't afford for all of this to fail. We have people now who are counting on us to make this work. They bet their lives and their futures for this."

Naruto agreed wholeheartedly with Nobuo. "We have everything we need here. If we all work together and keep thinking positive, nothing can go wrong."

"For their sake, I want this to work." She looked down at the little angel sleeping in her lap and gently kissed his forehead. "Especially for all these kids, they deserve so much better than what their families was put in before."

Kioshi murmured something but it was muffled by the thumb still stuck in his mouth. Suzume tried to remove the thumb and when she did, all the sleeping Kioshi did was put it back. She tried again and again to keep his thumb away from his mouth but even if Kioshi was awake or not, the thumb still ended up back in his mouth.

Nobuo could only laugh at the scene. "Give up, Suzume, he's not going to stop. That kid's just too attached to that thumb of his that even if it's you, he won't stop." Getting a dirty look, he backed off, raising his hands up in surrender.

Naruto smiled. This is what having friends should be like, care free and able to joke about even the most ridiculous situations. He hoped that days like this would continue on, no worries or dangers that could threaten the lives of the people who had started to engrave themselves deep in his heart.

The men set off to build more suitable homes for the people, one for each family or person present. The old buildings that they had built last night would be torn down and the materials used to build them reused. Suzume stayed to help organize how the beginning part of the village would be designed. Taking into consideration the river not far from their location, they planned it into the formation. Meanwhile, Nobuo went to entertain the children and assist the elders. Naruto chose to help gather food from nearby, letting the woman gather fruits while he hunted down game.

This progressed on for the rest of the day. Thankfully before the night set in, the houses were made and each family were able to have more privacy and space now. They were all set up in square like arrangement surrounding the outskirts of the clearing. They would set up the headquarters in the center like any other village would be.

The trio spent the latter of the night after having sorted everyone out, to come up with some ideas concerning the structure of the village. Since none of them knew how the previous Uzu no Kuni worked, they could only come up with assumptions.

"We of course need a leader, different divisions, and we definitely need to build more buildings."

"Businesses are important and parks for the kids."

"Adding in an academy is a must do too. We need to be able to defend our village. It can't be just the three of us being the only ones able to use jutsus."

"But we also need to find people who can teach those kids though."

"And find some way to get other necessary materials from outside the country. But we can't just suddenly come out saying that we reformed Uzu no Kuni like it doesn't mean anything."

They found it hard to be able to come up with all these things right out of nowhere. Naruto knew that they needed more help but there was no one that he could call on for help. Unless…

"I've got it!" He couldn't help but feel stupid for not having though of this before. The others looked at him to explain for him what he meant. "I have a really good friend of mine; pretty high ranking that could help us with this little trouble."

"Who is this person you're talking about? Do we know him?" Suzume asked puzzled at who this powerful person could be. If he turns out to be as powerful as Naruto than they could have some advantage when trying to find some allies.

A dangerous gleam shined in his bright blue eyes, "Oh no, this is going to be a lot more dangerous than I thought."

With a proud look, with one side of his mouth quirked up in a half smile, Naruto nodded slowly. "We're taking a road trip to the Sand Village and paying a special visit to my friend, Gaara."

"Gaara! The Kazekage of the Sand?!"

"I wouldn't be talking about anyone else that powerful now would I?"

Back in Konoha

"What do you mean the trail to find Naruto Uzumaki has gone cold?"

"We apologize, Homura-sama, but none of we Anbu have reported seeing Naruto since a few days ago according to some of the people that had previously seen him. It's as if he has vanished into thin air. " Shikaku bowed his head. "The Anbu are still searching for any signs of him and those who have been sent out on their respective missions have been ordered to keep an eye out for him as well. So far there have been no new reports of him."

Koharu sighed and folded her hands into each other. "I never realized how hard it would be to find one simple boy like him. I assumed he would be reckless enough to expose himself so that we can capture him and deliver to him, the proper punishment."

Shikaku remained quiet. Where exactly is Naruto then? He couldn't have died so easily and staying out of the line of sight seemed like something he could never accomplish what with his track record of pranks. The shinobi had even asked his son whether or not he had any clue on the location of Naruto. The two had been close prior to Naruto's trial.

Sighing, the two elders dismissed Shikaku as they continued to discuss alternate plans for locating the fox child.

Standing just outside the doorway was Kakashi, looking the same as ever except for the redness of his eye that gave away the sleepless nights he spent going out searching for his lost student. He looked up, expecting some sort of news that could help him locate Naruto but soon fell again on disappointment. Looking crestfallen, he walked down the hallway outside into the sunshine, blocking the light with his book. He saw Sai and Sakura walking towards him, questions swirling in their eyes.

"I'm sorry you two, but there hasn't been any more news of him. He's completely disappeared." Kakashi hated to tell them this news every day just as much as he hated it himself. There were heavy weights of regret and guilt weighing down on their shoulders and it felt like to them, that they would never be lifted until the moment they could apologize to Naruto for their cruel behavior weeks ago.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Saying goodbye to everyone, Naruto hoped that they would cope well without him there for a couple of days. He knew they were capable of caring for themselves but he couldn't help but worry. The trek to Suna would take a while but hopefully there would be no trouble along the way.

Sadly fate had a different plan in store as they faced hordes of thieves and bandits, hunter ninjas and dangerous criminals, all ending up the same. Dead. It was easy sweeping them away. So as they left behind stunned faces of locals curious about the faces underneath the shadows of black cloaks, word spread of the three invincible ninjas.

When word spread of them throughout the nations, some grew worried about the possible trouble the three could pose. Were they merely travelers protecting themselves or possible enemies of the shinobi nations? No one could quite pin point their exact reasons for going around concealing their identities but everyone made sure to maintain caution.

Nobuo snickered. The things he kept hearing only made him so much more entertained. Not only  
were some of the theories so off the target they were in a whole new world, that only further added to the amusement. How did any of these people come up with the lies being told?

"What are you laughing about over there, Nobuo? It's creepy you know." Suzume felt creeped out about his self laughing. He had been doing it for the past ten minutes nonstop. "If there's something so funny, just tell us and let us in on the joke instead of laughing with yourself."

Nobuo stopped and stuck his tongue out at her. "I'm just thinking over something. It's not important now."

Ignoring the two who continued to chat behind him, Naruto kept his eyes straight on the path. The desert spread on all side of them and the midday sun beat down. You could see the waves of blistering heat while winds swept up the sands. But thankfully not too far off in the distance, there stood brown walls like warning signs in the seemingly empty space.

"Suzume." He interjected between the two who still were talking. She looked up at the sound of her name. "I need you to change forms." Understanding the need, Suzume followed the order. Naruto was the only person Suzume would take orders from, even Nobuo does the same.

Transforming into a desert hawk, Suzume perched herself on Naruto's shoulder, her eyes scanning ever inch of the horizon. Nobuo only followed closely, cautious of any dangers that could pop out and harm the team.

Approaching the entrance of the village, Naruto was immediately stopped by the guards. With their Sand logo head guard, the men stared them down with hard glares. "Who are you? Show your faces."

"I prefer not to. I only came to have a small chat with your Kazekage. I mean no harm to your or this village." Dropping his weapons ouch to the ground, he looked at Nobuo to do the same as him. The blue haired shinobi followed suit.

Looking down at the weapons, one guard only laughed at the sight. "Don't make me laugh. It doesn't matter whether or not you do something this stupid, you still aren't going to see the kage any time soon, boy."

Naruto sighed. How else could he get Gaara's attention without having to reveal his true identity to anyone. "Just tell him that a fellow comrade and friend is looking forward to seeing him soon." There he stood, waiting for the message to be delivered.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Gaara apologized. "If I had known earlier that it was you, I wouldn't have let the guards make you stand out there so long." Giving Temari and Kankuro a look, the two elder siblings order the rest of the people out of the room until it was only the six of them.

Naruto laughed. "You really can clear a room, Gaara."

Nobuo whistled at the sheer power of the young kage's words. He was more than what the rumors said of him. The guy oozed power and part of that was because he had once been the Jinchuriki of Shukaku. Naruto did know some powerful people, that's for sure.

"What exactly are you here for though, Naruto? I know you wouldn't risk your safety or that of your friend to just suddenly appear here."

"You're right." Suzume perched herself on Nobuo's shoulder as Naruto flipped back the hood. "I need some help. Maybe some advise too." Gaara and his siblings didn't respond to the request. Naruto saw that as a sign to continue talking. "We've been traveling until only a little while ago, meeting other people still affected by the after effects of wars and battles created by us shinobi. One day though, my friend here thought of an idea."

"What's the idea?" Kankuro asked.

Making eye contact with all three of them, "To recreate the Land of Whirlpools."

Temari's eyes grew round at the even thought of something that dangerous. "Are you insane? Even if you manage to rebuild that country, how do you manage defending it or even running it. You don't know anything about being a leader."

Kankuro grabbed her arm. "Knock it off, Temari. Naruto did say advise." His sister huffed but complied. "What do you think, Gaara?" The youngest sibling stood there behind his desk, thinking about how to answer the question.

"...Alright. The sand will help you Naruto. But as long as we can be guaranteed an alliance with you."

Happily smiling, Naruto accepted. "I wouldn't imagine it any other way between us." The two shook hands with the view of the sand village as a background to the negotiation.

-  
"That was fun." Nobuo mused.

Suzume chirped. Flapping her wings she tool off into the air.

Nobuo and Naruto stopped, leaning on each others backs poised to fight. Suzume had taken off to locate each of the hidden attackers. When she cane back, there was five pursuers.

"You take two and I'll take the other three." Naruto didn't know who exactly the spies were but they should be prepared to go home broken at best.

"No fair, I want three."

With a screech from Suzume, the figures each appeared in front of the two still standing together. And that's when Naruto gasped. Standing before him was Kakashi and Gai sensei accompanied by Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee. The team of five still hadn't recognized the figures beneath the hoods but all they could figure was that they were the targets.

"Reveal yourselves!" Kakashi ordered them. Nabuo sneaked a peek under the hood of his partner, subtle and unnoticed. When Naruto made no move to remove the only thing keeping their identity intact to the outside world, Nabuo did the same. "Fine, we'll just have to do this the hard way then. Be warned, we won't go easy on you."

With that, it began. Nabuo gladly handed over the problem of facing the two senseis. Naruto smirked at his cowardly move but could understand. The challenge he would be facing against the two of them would be avoiding using jutsus that could travel directly to him. So with that in mind, Naruto struggled heavily with keeping himself alive.

Watching from high above in the sky, Suzume saw what was happening to Naruto. She knew this encounter was dangerous enough as it stands but the addition of Leaf ninjas never crossed her mind in the least. All three of them had to return to Whirlpools before the night set in. Being right outside the border of the fire nation may have been a bad decision but it was the only other fast route possible to get home unless the group wanted to cut straight through the country.

Knowing that this had to end quickly, Suzume changed into her human self and landed on top of Gai. Gracefully stepping off of him and throwing his body into the bushes, she turned to Kakashi. Even though she transforms between human and animal, her clothing never changed so the black good still covered her face.

Nabuo had managed to defeat the three young shinobi with minor scratches and bruises though he looked like the match had been painful enough. Making sure to securely tie them up to three individual trees, he partnered up with the other two to fight the senseis.

Kakashi used his famous lightning jutsu and Gai chose to unlock the first gate. Nabuo countered with his water cannon and Suzume used her earth style mud pocket. Naruto chose to hang back, only throwing shurikens and kunais to guide the men to his desirable position for the jutsus to be used effectively.

In the end, it was rhanks to Suzume's mud pocket that stopped the movement of kakashi and gai by burying their body in quick drying mud up to their necks. This gave them enough time to make a get away.

They landed on the shore of Whirlpool country just in time to start seeing the familiar red and orange and yellow of a changing sky.

The people stood on the banks, waving and welcoming them back home. Children ran to them, engulfing their legs in hugs. With then clinging and showing no sign of releasing, Naruto dragged the bunch one slow step at a time all the way to the village. In the short span of time spent gone they had all managed to create a bit more space and started the foundations for a headquarters.

Awe weaved through every word he said when he complimented everyone. "Wow. You guys did an amazing job. You did all of that in two days?"

"Yup." A middle aged man named Hitoshi answered, walking up from behind Naruto. "Didn't think we could build that much in the short amount of time you left but we did. Think of it as a welcome back home present." Hitoshi had been one of the first people to accept Naruto's proposal of reforming the Land of Whirlpools. Being a husband and a father to two small children, he would do anything if there was a single chance of it being beneficial to his family. Only recently did they find out that his wife was pregnant with their third child, being seven weeks in already.

"How is your wife doing so far though? Is she and the kids adjusting well to the new home?" Naruto inquired, curious as to how the family was getting along. "If you have any problems, just talk to me and ill see what I can do for you."

Hitoshi looked down at the blonde teen. "Thank you very much for that offer but I think they're settling in just fine. Only yesterday my daughter would go on forever about the friends she's made and the fun places to play at. It was the first time she looked so happy like this and talking so much." A loving look brightened up his eyes. "Its thanks to you and your two friends that something incredible as this could happen to us of all people."

"You deserve every happy thing coming your way now, Hitoshi." was the only reply Naruto gave before smiling away.

"That boy just gives and gives."

Sitting around the fire, the small community laughed together and danced together and sang together. The scene could remind one of a family camp reunion. Food was being roasted over the spit fire, smoke rising into the clear navy blue sky of the night, stars twinkling just as bright as the first night.

Naruto stood up and cleared his throat, making the gathering hush where only the crickets chirped somewhere in the grass. "Everyone, I would just like to say some things before we finish up here with dinner." Suzume nudged Nabuo, telling him to pay attention. "I know these last two weeks have been chaotic and sometimes tiring but I appreciate how much effort each and every one of you have put into this village. None of thus would be here if it weren't for you all." With the embarrassing speech done, Naruto sat back down on the log.

Everyone from the youngest to oldest cheered. They were happy about how things were progressing. Not much further down the road in the future the Land of Whirlpools would be running smoothly.

Back in konoha

"What happened Kakashi, Gai? How did you and the rest of your team end up this beaten?" Koharu stood shocked as the two jounin looked straight forward. "You are telling me that three young shinobi were capable of taking out all five you with minimal amount of damage compared to all of you?"

"Unbelievable! How is that possible?!" Homura had just about had enough of those three rogue shinobi. "What should we do, Koharu? They could pose a serious threat to this village if not taken care of."

The old woman agreed completely, if they chose to side with an enemy, things would look highly unfavorable to Konoha. By finding out their true identities, the key to defeating them once and for all would be revealed to them.  
-


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

-One year later-

Naruto peered out over the now developed village of the Land of Waves. Streets were lined on either side with houses and businesses. Since forming the population had increased to over seventy members. Not long after that bonfire night did everyone elect Naruto as the official leader.

Things were still continuing to develop, one of them including the academy. The building plans and floor plans had already been drawn out and the builders already had the materials necessary. The only level that would be located on the surface would be the homerooms, guest bathrooms, general cubbies, and the front office. Right beneath the school, hidden by a door that can be opened only with the village crest found on the inside palm of each villager.

And that is how the majority of the village is made up of. The surface contained the community buildings like housing and businesses along with parks. There were two hospitals, one for ninjas and one for visitors and everyone else. By separating certain things to private and ninja related categories, this kept select information from being leaked out. This is not only a defensive against possible intruders but also a safety precaution for those who weren't directly involved in the affairs of the gruesome shinobi world. Even the headquarters was separated into surface and below surface sections. However it was made sure that if visitors ever did come, the surface would hold the facade of having all the village secrets present.

Hitoshi and his wife welcomed to the world their first daughter only four months ago, everyone celebrated the occasion for the first actual generation of the village had been born. Every birth had been treated special, each child warmly welcomed into the new world.

Kioshi celebrated his seventh birthday. And being one of the oldest boys in the village, he looked forward to the completion if the school because his goal was to be as strong as Naruto and Nobuo. When the two of them heard this from Suzume, they couldn't help but look forward to that day very much.  
-

Naruto stood around a large round dark wooden table with Naobu, Suzume, Hitoshi, and another new member named Fumio. He has read many scrolls and books pertaining to the subjects of each nation, clan, bloodlines, and jutsus. Fumio contains not only that but a vast knowledge of histories.

Looking at the faces present, all joking was set aside for this important meeting. "We are here to discuss some more things. I'm sorry for taking you away from some other important things but this comes first for now. First off, it's almost that time to renew our treaty with the Sand village. Second, I apparently need an outfit that reflects my current status which I disagree with."

Suzume crossed her arms, acting like the mother she was inside, scolded Naruto. "Oh, no you don't! You aren't getting out of this one. Here in the village people may know who you are and what you symbolize but outside of this island, no one sees you the way we do. So, no, you aren't allowed to not show your power. That's final so no weaseling out of this." Done with her rant, she dared Naruto to come with a comeback with eyes piercing imaginary shuriken into him.

Hanging his head down, he only agreed. When Suzume got like this no one could stop her or object to her. "Thirdly, we need to make the final touches on the school. We need it done as soon as possible. There are already a small handful of children at the proper age to be trained. And I don't think the parents want to wait any longer to get then educated." His eyes met for a second with Hitoshi before going around the table.

Nabuo chose to address the first problem. "I think the first objective will be easy to accomplish. We successfully completed last time and now that we actually know what we are doing, this time will be faster and easier."

Fumio added in, "And the village is safe enough and more capable of protecting ourselves. We made sure to make this place run smoothly even with your short absence, Naruto-sama." His round glasses were pushed up. He held a great amount of respect for the young leader after having witnessed firsthand his strength and kind heart.

"Please, no more of that sama from you Fumio. It's hard enough getting the villagers to stop calling me that after everything we've all been through together."

Fumio shook his head. "I mean no disrespect to that request but I am afraid I cannot bring myself to follow that order. I respect you far too much to call you anything else but Naruto-sama."

Giving up with a sigh, Naruto gestured to Hitoshi to take his turn to speak.

"The third request is nearly complete. All we have to finish completing the sparring room. With that we can official open our doors."

Nabuo thought of a relevant question concerning the school. "Wait, who will be the teachers. We can't just supply only one for the kids. That won't be enough for them to actually learn enough to become Tide ninjas. "

Suzume nodded. "Nabuo is right. The only teacher we have so far is Maiko."

Seeing the dilemma, Naruto was stuck worrying with no possible solution. "Alright, Fumio, I want you to find at least one more proper teacher while Suzume, Nabuo, and I are away. And Hitoshi," The two stared at each other, "I want you to continue overseeing the development of the school building but if they finish before I return, hold off on the opening ceremony."

"Hai." The two men understood their tasks.

"Good. Then I should go get prepared for the travel. You too, Suzume, Nabuo. We leave in an hour for the Sand village." With that final order, Naruto turned and walked out the large steel double doors, opening them with a push of both hands.  
-

On the road once again, the threesome walked and walked, stopping for nothing. They had changed their usual attire slightly to something more suited to the occasion. Naruto wore a black jumper with the Uzumaki symbol adorned on the back and something to cover his blonde hair with. He wore the signature white haori though it didn't have any writing or design present to pub point it as being a haori.

Suzume wore the same outfit design but it was a black dress instead of purple. Nabuo kept the same black pants and black short sleeves but he chose to add in black gloves with the fingers cut to the middle of each finger. The only real difference this time is the black face masks that resembled something like what Kakashi would wear. This was not an officially set outfit but it would do for now.

"How much longer do you think it'll be? I'm guessing we are almost there, right?" Nabuo felt that the trek was taking a lot less time but still felt long. Suzume, knowing that he would continue to ask the same question until they arrive felt compelled to transform and scout ahead.

"You don't have to ask again now, Nabuo. Suzume is going to check ahead and estimate the amount of time left for us. So instead of giving me that bored look, move faster."

Suzume was correct when she came back informing them that the village was only a few minutes away as long as they continued at the current speed. The familiar tall walls of the village's entrance loomed closer and closer. The usual number of guards stood waiting for their arrival.

Stopping in front of them, one guard bowed and beckoned for them to follow him to the Kazekage. That they did, walking past the curious and suspicious stares of the locals. None of them felt the least bit uncomfortable under the constant stares.

When the door was opened to the office, Gaara stood up to meet Naruto halfway across the room. As usual, the only people present in the office were the three Sand siblings. Kankuro stood against the wall without his usual black clad clothing behind the sofa where Temari sat with arms crossed.

Suzume and Temari made eye contact and a spark of electricity appeared before them. They gave each other meaningful glares before looking away.

Kankuro and Nabuo saw the exchange between the two females, sensing the potential cat fight that could break out at any minute. Seeing the possibility of something like this actually happening, Nabuo positioned himself between the two. Suzume angrily flipped her brown ponytail over her right shoulder and chose to glare at the floor.

While the mini war continued, Gaara and Naruto chose to discuss the details of the treaty. They had decided that the best option would be to renew the treaty yearly, revising any details. Once that was completed, they would copy the agreements onto two scrolls which both would sign and keep one each. This enabled them to keep tabs on the other and make any necessary changes for the benefit of their respective villages.

There the two sat for hours sitting on either side of Gaara's desk, papers scattered over the surface while the two whispered to the other. No one dared to break the concentration. Nabuo, finding that Suzume would not be speaking to the Sand nin, told the two siblings that they would be receiving occasional messages from their village informing them of improtant news that needed to be known immediately.

Temari refused to allow such access but Kankuro managed to step in, telling Nabuo to excuse his sister and that such a thing was allowed. But the bird had to wear the emblem of the village at all times when making the deliveries. This was a simple rule that Nabuo found he was able to follow.

It had taken nearly till dusk for the treaty to end but both leaders looked highly satisfied with the outcome. There had been moments when one or both sides refused some sort of content being put in; however, everything went smoothly in between those few seconds. Suzume was extremely happy when Naruto announced their departure.

Naruto had assumed that it would be a strong rivalry between Nabuo and Kankuro, not the two calm kunoichi who would be the ones to go at each other's necks. Even Nabuo thought the same. How ironic that the one who cares the most about others being the one after a fellow allies head.

With handshakes and hugs, the party headed for home. The trip back was just as uneventful as the trip there. They had passed the borders of the Fore Country but encountered no patrols. It seemed quiet and as cliche as it may sound, but it was too quiet.

"Stay alert." Naruto whispered low. Something was off.

Nabuo's eyes darted from side to side, assessing what he could from the growing shadows of the trees. "I don't see anything so far."

"Idiot, you can't just use your eyes to find attackers." Suzume couldn't help but smack him in the back of his head for such stupidity as that. "Listen and smell too."

There was a faint but still audible crunch of leaves, as if someone was sitting on the ground and leaned too far to one side. Pin pointing the location, Naruto jerked his head for Suzume to bring out whoever was watching them.

With a series of hand signals, a female scream was followed by a body being forced into sight. It was Hinata with long dark hair and pale white eyes getting to her feet. She stood ready to defend herself.

"So you're of the members of the Hyuuga clan, huh?" Nabuo asked to confirm what his were looking at. "Doesn't look like your anything too special."

Naruto lowered his voice into a warning, "Don't underestimate the power of the Hyuuga clan members, no matter what they may look like. If this girl managed to learn the Gentle Fist, you may have some trouble like last time but on a completely different level."  
-

Hinata's POV

Only the boy with the blue hair attacked me. The other two made no move but I could sense that they were waiting for the others to appear. My team and I were only patrolling here by chance when Akamaru caught the scent of someone unknown or in this case, three unknown people. Shino helped to locate these intruders faster by using his bugs. Though others think his abilities are gross, I find them really great. He has an ability to be proud of despite what the thinking of others may be.

"Byakugan." I said, readying myself. When the blue boy charged at me it felt like he was going in slow motion. Spinning to dodge him, I pushed one of his chakra openings.

With a grunt of pain, he rolled onto the ground before back flipping onto his feet with amusement in his eyes. "So this is the power, huh? Doesn't really live up to my expectations but then again, maybe you're just weak." I felt a twinge inside. Even he sees me as weak.

I remembered those days, sparring with my father in the main house, the pain and bruises. But no matter how many times I got back and no matter how hard I tried to fight back, those eyes of disappointment stared down at me. And those were the eyes that followed me everywhere I went. Shaking off the feelings of the past, I charged forward.

Nimbly avoiding his fist by centimeters, I closed more of his chakra openings. This was going to be easy. No, this shouldn't be easy. These three were capable of taking out a whole group of criminals and hunter ninjas too, so how is it that I am able to fight equally with one of them? But as my mind starting to question this phenomenon a punch hit my stomach and I sent flying back, leaving me dazed and a rib fractured.

"Well that was fun, having my chakra openings messed with and all that. Still unimpressive though. Where's that other guy I fought before." Meeting the eyes of my opponent I was shocked. His dark blue eyes held no disappointment despite what he had said about me. A smile was what I saw and a hand reach out to me. "Sorry about that punch and sorry for what I'm going to be doing after this."

With a serious face, he grabbed me by the neck and I felt my body lift off the ground. Looking down at him, the trace of the smile had dissolved from his face and all that I saw was a face devoid of anything. It was not only him though; the other two went to stand beside him. Killing intent slowly seeped off them, drowning me in it to the point that I could care less about breathing and more on escaping. I managed to choke out a help before blacking out.

"Great, look what you did, moron. She's out cold because you were holding her too tight." A female voice reprimanded from somewhere in the darkness. "Now what? We can't take her back with us and we certainly can't go skipping into their village and manage to get out unscathed at the least." The girl breathed out roughly.

That's when I heard the most familiar voice speak out to me, so nostalgic. The voice of Naruto. "I'm sorry Hinata that my friend here got a little too careless but we just can't afford to get caught right now. There are some people out there counting on us to come back." It felt so real, the voice, the smell, almost as if he was actually right there beside me. But it couldn't be possible. Naruto disappeared over a year ago. "Take her to the borders. I'm sure Kiba and Shino will find her in no time if they track her scent."

A pair of strong arms carried me up and through the air; wind stinging at my face and the near silent steps on tree branches lulled me further into the darkness.

Someone started to shake me awake, shaking my shoulders. "Oi! Hinata! Wake up!" Kiba's voice brought me out of sleep. Opening my eyes, I was met with the familiar faces of Kiba, Shino, Akamaru, and Kurenai-sensei. "Thank god we found you. We've been looking everywhere for you. I knew it wasn't a good idea to separate from each other."

"But it was your idea in the first place, Kiba." Shino opposed.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is right now. What matters is how Hinata ended up here of all places and unconscious. No one just disappears out of nowhere and ends up safe somewhere else further away than where we left them." Kurenai-sensei was right. Someone had to have carried me back. Then I realized who.

"Those people…"

"What do you mean, Hinata? Who are 'those people' you're talking about?" Kurenai-sensei asked me urgently. I knew she was worried about me but I needed a second to think it over.

Sitting up slowly with the help of Akamaru, I looked at the faces of my team. Curiosity and worry mixed themselves into each of their faces. "There were three ninja I found while patrolling outside our camp site. I thought they were planning to raid us so I decided to observe them for a bit. Somehow one of them managed to hear me and draw me out." Kiba opened his mouth to ask for more information but Shino managed to stop him from speaking out. "There were two boys and one girl. I couldn't see what they really looked like except they wore black face masks and black outfits. The girl had long brown hair and the boy had dark blue hair and ark blue eyes."

"What about the second boy?"

I shook my head, side to side. "All I know is that he has blue eyes too, but a lot lighter. That's all."

Kurenai-sensei bent her head down a little with a hand on her hip. She was thinking of something. "We need to head back to the village and inform the Elders of this. It's bad enough that Lady Tsunade hasn't awoken yet but now this. Those three are getting closer to the borders of our country and it could pose a problem later." She turned towards the direction of the village with a new determination around her. "Let's go!"

"Yes!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Oh stop being so mad, at least I didn't kill her!" For the last twenty minutes home Nabuo had been trying to apologize to Naruto, who in turn, ignored him. Hinata had been safely deposited at the border and was found safe by the rest of her absent team but that did not help appease Naruto's anger. "Naruto, she' perfectly fine. If she could get up that quickly from one of my punches then she can easily survive."

Giving the blue haired boy a disbelieving glance, Naruto shook his head in disapproval. "That's not the point, Nabuo. What I'm mad about is the fact that you could have so easily killed her. I may not be a member of the Leaf village but I still don't want any of them getting hurt, especially from us."

Nabuo mouthed to Suzume for her to put some sense back into their leader. She didn't want to get involved in their dispute but after being further pressured into it, sighed. "Naruto, that was necessary. She was already injured enough and by the way she refused to back down, Nabuo could have easily killed her just to put her down. So he knocked your friend out since that was the only other option besides beating her senseless. And plus, we didn't know where the other members of the team were and by immobilizing her, we could draw them out." Staring at his back, she added in something else. "It was the only thing Nabuo could do to keep all of us alive." This drew out a reaction.

"Yeah, but dumping her at the border like a dead body and hoping she didn't get attacked wasn't a part of the deal, was it?" He hissed through clenched teeth. There was no point in trying to reason with the blonde while he was like this.

The two decided to give up hope of trying to appease his anger but one last time, Nabuo chose to apologize before silence descended upon the traveling party. There were no further incidents and that made the trip home go by much slower.

"Welcome back, Naruto-sama, Suzume, Nabuo." Fumio greeted them from the entrance to the village. He carried with him a dusty brown book with letters that were poorly scrawled out on the spine and cover. "I see that the mission went… well?"

Naruto brushed past the confused man to the front doors of the main center building of the village, heading to his office for some peace and quiet. People passed him by, welcoming him back only to be returned with a robotic like hello. They too were confused at what had happened.

Fumio looked at Suzume to explain what had just happened but she only jabbed a finger in Nabuo's direction and all was understood. "I see, and then Nabuo, could you please explain why Naruto-sama's mood seems quite murderous?" When Nabuo refused to answer, Fumio only hummed. "What exactly did you do to rile him up this time? Worms in his ramen again?"

Nabuo grimaced at that example. "That was only one time, and ONLY one time. I still can't help but have nightmares about what he did to me." A shudder ran down his spine at the sheer terror of the memory. Nothing and nobody should ever mess with Naruto when it came down to the official relationship between him and ramen. Everyone knew that if ramen were a woman and it wouldn't be considered weird, he would most definitely choose to marry it.

"Then what is the dilemma?"

Knowing that Nabuo would never confess his mistake, Suzume chose to intercede on the conversation. "Our dear friend here chose to fight against an old friend of Naruto's. Things were going great at first." Fumio raised an eyebrow. "But then the situation kind of got out of hand and he ended up knocking out the friend. The bad part about the whole debacle was that Nabuo decided to have us leave the body on the border of the Fire country."

"This friend wasn't dead, correct? Because if this friend was dead when you disposed of the body, we may be facing some political strife with the Fire country. The lives that are going to be lost and the village will be destroyed. If we're lucky enough of us will be able to survive to… no, no. That wouldn't be possible. With a much larger nation attacking us, we wouldn't stand even the smallest of chances. But if we somehow managed to sabotage one of their travel paths and taking into consideration the whirlpools and tide patterns, there could be some disadvantages for them."

Suzume and Nabuo both panicked, shaking both their hands and head in an urgent no. "That's not it, Fumio! We didn't kill her! I didn't kill her! No one died, I swear! So please don't talk about getting ready to battle when we've just barely managed to get this village up and running."

"Alright, but if things were to turn to that, I know an excellent strategy that could put us a step ahead of them at the least." There was a dangerous glint in the man's eyes. Though being only in his late twenties, Fumio had a way of thinking that could rival that of some of the elders living in the village that had seen and experienced far more than him.

"We'll… keep that suggestion in mind if we need any help in the future." Suzume awkwardly answered.

Sitting down on the chair and setting his elbows down on the wooden desk, Naruto replayed the happenings of the day. The treaty discussion with Gaara, the rivalry between Suzume and Temari, and lastly, the incident concerning Hinata Hyuuga all replayed themselves in his mind. He acknowledged the steps Nabuo had taken as necessary but leaving her at the border alone without somebody watching until she was rescued didn't rest well in his heart. Who knows what could have happened to her on any other day.

Worrying so much over the subject, Naruto didn't notice Hitoshi knock and enter the room. "Naruto-sama? Am I interrupting anything important?" He stood outside the door frame with the handle still in his hand. "If you want, I can always come back at a better time."

Shaking his head, Naruto beckoned him to come forward. "No, come in. If you are here personally, it must mean there is something I need to know immediately then? Does it concern the school building project?"

"Yes, the structure has been finished and approved by the builders as being safe to allow student access. We wanted to allow you a walkthrough the halls before deciding what to do from here. Whether we announce the opening today or tomorrow is up to you to decide, Naruto-sama."

Rising from his comfortable chair, Naruto stretched out his arms before walking towards the man. "Let's get going then. I wouldn't want anybody to wait any longer than necessary. The faster we get the academy started, the better it will be for everyone." The duo walked down the long stone floored hallway with its clean white walls reflecting the light of the lamps hanging from the high ceiling.

Making their way a little further south of the river and center building stood a white painted wooden and brick building. There was a half wall surrounding the small plot with a steel gate entrance. Hitoshi walked a little faster forward to open the gate personally for Naruto earning himself a small thank you. Neither had seen the entirety of the building so this was going to be a new experience for the both of them. First entering through the steel doors, similar to those of the meeting room, the smell of the ocean engulfed the whole floor. A nice little receptionist style desk stood in the middle of the room, a single vase of flowers the only sign of this place having even been previously occupied.

Everything about the place followed the traditional theme style of the rest of the village. There were stone or wooden floors and white or light blue walls. When walking down the one main hallway from the main doors, on the right were the classrooms each marked off by a name plate that read off the year and letter name. To the right were the bathrooms, nurse's office, teachers' rooms, and the lunchroom. Hitoshi led Naruto to a random class. Sliding open the door, there were simple rows of desks and chairs. Four columns with four rows each were required in every teaching room. All of them faced a green chalk board. The view of through three large floors to ceiling windows was that of the ocean looking out towards the rest of the countries.

"So far, so good, Hitoshi, but what about the rest? It's the lower levels that have my interests piqued."

Giving a chuckle, Hitoshi walked over to behind the teacher's desk and bent down to the ground. Whispering a few words, a two by two square on the floor glowed and disappeared into thin air. What was left in its space were stone stairs leading down into darkness. "This way, if you want to see the rest but be careful. The guys blew out the lights down there so we're going to have to light everything back up." With that warning, he descended down the stairs with Naruto not too far behind. Hitoshi had managed to learn some fire jutsu during the nights practicing while the rest of his family slept. At first it had been as a way to help train his son in the future but then transformed into it being for his benefit as well.

Whispering and flashing some hand signs Hitoshi breathes out to every lantern they passed and lit the hallways with every five feet. They had reached maybe fifty feet in when the area opened up wide in front of them. Lighting the torches, Naruto's eyes grew wide. Not only had the place been finished, it had been finished to perfection. The hall had been expanded to an open space look out over the further lower "classrooms". Railings ensured the safety of anyone if they chose to take a closer look by leaning forward. Taking the stone stairs down, he whistled. "Absolutely amazing."

Hitoshi felt proud as well. Even if he had only helped the upper portion of the project, the place felt like the work of his own hands. The sparring field looked immaculate, the rocks and pebbles remained behind as a way to help in training but the ground had gone from leveled to a little bumpy. There were other areas that fit perfectly well for the subjects being used for it. Some of the places included a weapons education for knowing how to use and master things like the shuriken.

Clapping him on the shoulder, Naruto shined his childish smile at Hitoshi. "The kids will love it. And I hope your kids will like it all the more knowing their good old dad helped to create it."

"Thank you." A stray tear trailed down his aging face.

"Attention! Can I get everyone's attention please?!" A hush befell the overexcited crowd as Naruto raised his voice. Clearing his throat, he suddenly started to feel a bit embarrassed. "Okay, um, I'd just like to thank you all for gathering on such short notice. However, I have some great news to announce. Thanks to the guidance of our own Hitoshi Matsuoka and our fellow builders, our new Academy has been finished!"

Hitoshi blushed as his wife and kids hugged him tightly and the crowd praised him. He stood beaming in the presence of his family and peers, happy to have been part of something this big and beneficial to the village.

"So, without further introductions, I am happy to say that the Uzushiogakure will now be opening the doors of its official academy. Registrations will be handled by the newest teacher Maiko at the receptionist desk. Please, enter in an orderly and calm fashion. We will make sure to get to every single family by the end of the day."

Suzume laughed as Naruto was nearly swallowed up by the crowd heading into the building. "You okay? Got all your organs in the right place?" Nabuo snickered at the joke.

"Haha, very funny but since you seemed so concerned for my well being, I am fine. Just a little dizzy from being pushed around like that but nothing I won't be able to overcome soon."

"Good, because we have another thing to deal with before we can call it a day."

Trying to escape from the doom, Nabuo started to back away slowly but was caught by Naruto. Freezing, Nabuo gave his friend a pleading look and even getting down on his knees mouthing favors. Naruto rejected the deal and looked at Suzume. "Fine, the haori design and all that but don't forget, we have to come up with a color scheme and design for the rest of the Tide ninjas. And I think I know the perfect volunteer to help model that." Quickly grabbing the fleeing Nabuo, Naruto put him in a choke hold. "Nabuo said he would be happy to participate earlier today. Just couldn't seem to keep him quiet about it until now."

"I hate you." He harshly whispered but kept the smile on his face, not wanting to face a mad and disappointed Suzume. "I will get you back for this, twice as bad."

"Good luck with that threat. Remember the last time you tried to get revenge on me, the ramen fight?"

"Nevermind."

"Thought so, Nabuo."

"Whatever."

They headed off, getting ready to flaunt around in designer outfits that would be both tight and awkward. "Don't pout you two, I promise to make you both look absolutely adorable." Slinging her arms around their necks, Suzume made sure that the two couldn't escape from her before they got to her house. "Think of it as a dress up game."

"Dress up game of pain and possible death." Nabuo muttered before starting to gasp, "Okay, okay, uncle, uncle. I tap out. Let go, you're going to kill me even before I try the clothes on." This made her hold down tighter. "I…g…give."

Naruto laughed. "That's what you get for complaining all the time."

"Che, like you weren't thinking the same thing as me. It's just I am man enough to say them out loud."

"Is that a challenge?" A dangerous edge came out.

"Yeah, yeah that was."

"Enough." Suzume threw the two through the open door of her home and closed it tightly behind her, making sure to lock it. "Prepare yourselves boys; I have come up with some new outfits that will blow your little minds away."

Two hours later, Nabuo lay exhausted on the floor, sprawled out like a sea star. Naruto felt so drained of energy that just looking at the glowing Suzume made him want to choke her.

"You guys still have to make a decision, unless you want to go with my idea of pink."

Naruto darted forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. "No, that will be a fantasy of yours that stays a fantasy forever. We aren't going to be the pink ninjas of the Land of Whirlpools. That won't set in well with anyone, ally or not. We'll go with the fifth design instead and the second haori design."

"Fine." Suzume huffed, sad that the show was done and Nabuo couldn't have been any happier with the result.

Later Suzume made the haori, bringing it to Naruto's office where he sat sleeping with his head down snoring. A small pool of drool started to form at the corner of his mouth and that killed the moment of cuteness right then. Shaking her head at the irresponsibility of not going back home and sleeping in his own bed, Suzume used the haori as a blanket to cover the cold form.

"Goodnight, Naruto." She opened the door, light filtering in around her figure, casting a long shadow. "Sweet dreams."

There were frantic steps outside as the bells rang in the village. Doors slammed open and people ran out into the streets.

"Oh no! I'm late!" Koshio hopped out the front door of his home in black slacks and green shirt. His fluffy black hair ruffled at the touch of the ocean breeze drifting in. "Bye aunty, uncle!"

"Have a good day at school, Koshio! Make sure to pay attention and play nice!"

"Yes aunty!" The little boy called back before hustling it over to the school gate. When he arrived, thankfully, no one noticed his absence in line. Sneaking in, he put his things in the cubby and went to the bathroom, walking out a little later acting as if he had just gone momentarily.

Walking into the class though, Maiko stood with both hands on her fist. "It's nice of you to join us, Koshio Ozawa. We've been waiting for you to arrive and introduce yourself, so why don't you come up here and do just that."

Blushing, Koshio stood in front of the small class of seven and cleared his throat. Standing with hands behind his back, he stared at the back wall of the class. "My name is Koshio Ozawa and I am seven."

"Your goals."

"I hope to one day be just as strong as Naruto Uzumaki and Nabuo Eguchi."

Makio stood next to an empty seat at the front row of the room next to the windows and set one hand gently on the surface. "This will be your seat from now on."

"Yes ma'am."

The other kids giggled when he sat down, whispering and stealing glances at him. Koshio sighed and slumped down in the chair. This was the worst first day in the history of word first days. If the day didn't go by any faster, the poor kid was going to explode in embarrassment.

Standing at the front of the class and writing down her name on the board, Makio turned around and smiled. "Hello everybody and welcome to the first day of your first step on the road to becoming fine Tide ninjas of Uzushiogakure. My name is Makio Takeuchi and I will be your teacher for the rest of the school year. I know that we are small now but in the future, the next generation of kids sitting in those desks years from now may just be your next students that you'll be taking out on missions. So remember this, what you learn here is what will be carried on for the rest of your lives. Pay good attention and make sure to form strong bonds with one another."

"Yes ma'am!" The class answered.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Weeks passed and the village grew larger and stronger. More immigrants came flooding in, waiting for access to through the harsh tides and whirlpools. Those who grew too impatient and proceeded ahead without proper guidance drowned, some chose to swim finding the majority decision of waiting too long and drowning as well. People soon started to learn that patience was part of the steps needed to gain access and acceptance. Most migrants were families looking for a better opportunity for them or orphaned children wishing for a home.

Naruto found sympathy in those sad stories when he too had gone through some of those harsh realities. But some were denied only for the dangers they posed within the village itself. Half of the traveling migrants were denied before passing the treacheries of the natural barriers surrounding the island, the fourth were denied at the entrance to the village, and an eighth were denied inside doors of the central building. That meant that only an eighth of the participants were given citizenship as members of the Land of Whirlpools.

Some of the decisions were made based off the health of the people and others based on the backgrounds of each member. Those deemed too dangerous or wanted by those outside of the land would not be allowed to settle. Many faced disappointment at having been so close to restarting somewhere new and it broke many people's hearts.

There had once been a riot against rejecting all these applicants but things quickly died off in the next couple of days when the reasons for doing so were told. The villagers finally understood that it was for the overall safety of everyone that this type of cruelty had to be practiced.

Now the population is reaching well over two hundred. Had it really been a little over a year ago that this land was nothing but wilderness inhabited by a small group of people staking everything on a dream that could so easily fail? The world works in many strange ways.

Naruto's POV

How long has it been since I've had this much fun outside before? I've been smiling and laughing for the last hour, and I feel like I might just die from it soon. The kids started to attack me one by one from all sides prowling like cats hunting mice. It's amazing how far they've gotten in just a couple of months. I guess Maiko has been teaching them a lot because these little brats have some skill.

Dodging left to right, I jumped over a couple of awed faces before preparing to fend myself. The current curriculum for the first years was to learn basic chakra information, jutsus, and knowledge of working with weapons and on the field. Sure they didn't know anything besides a basic henge but that didn't matter. By next year, things would only be three times as hard because there was barely any classroom time. Everything they learned the first year would be tested and perfected from then on. There is no space for making mistakes when it comes to living in the real world.

"Remember, just because you know only a little doesn't mean you can't use it to your advantage. There are plenty of situations when being only a first year can be an advantage to a bigger opponent like me. Focus."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Koshio standing behind the rest of his classmates. What was he planning? If I remember correctly, Suzume's been helping to tutor him a little each day after school since he's been falling a little behind compared to the others. And if I know Suzume as well as I know I do, things are going to get sticky when the kid gets involved in this. "Give me the best of your killing intent!" I barked at them.

I dodged some more but didn't do anything to counterattack them. I knew where to draw the line and hitting a child in a mock spar was over the line for sure. Some were more quick, or strong, or more strategic when coming at me. The one thing I was really looking for was the killing intent, the one key component that would ultimately decide the overall winner in a fight between ninjas.

Koshio stepped out when everyone else was on the ground exhausted and covered in sweat while I had kept an even breathing pace the entire activity. Makio stood up on the overlook where the secret halls of each classroom connected into the underground. She smiled down at me and I returned it.

"Are you ready?" I asked him, searching in his eyes and stance for a shred of fear. There was no tremble; no dilation of the pupil, not even when he spoke was there a stutter.

Koshio charged at me at full speed aiming for a clean punch. Sensing that obvious move, I pushed at the back of his head and sent him lightly flying back. The kid got up with more spunk, this time making sure to keep a good distance away from me before doing something I never expected to happen, running in the opposite direction. I couldn't help but laugh at that, he sure was random for being so quiet. Laughing, I shifted from being the chased to the chaser. "I'm going to find you Koshio so you better be prepared. A ninja that runs from a battle is either a ninja who knows what he's doing or a ninja only prolonging his death."

And I felt it then, a small twinge of fear from a killing intent that seemed to grow in size right before my eyes. Koshio had hidden himself behind a boulder and was sitting there concentrating all while I searched everywhere for him. The next thing I knew, he was flying right at me by using the boulder as a means to store up his energy. Little fists kept coming at me and I managed to deflect every single one.

"What has Suzume been teaching you that's made you this dangerous already kid?"

His grey eyes stared into mine, "Courage." Then pale fists hit me twice right in the eye. I heard a laugh and couldn't help but laugh too, falling to the ground in a momentary daze.

"Courage, huh? Seems like you're the only one that's gotten to that truth compared to the others."

Makio jumped down and some dirt covered my face. Coughing, I sat up and opened one eye up at the woman smirking down at me. She chuckled and looked over at Koshio. "Good job Koshio. You managed to land not just one but two punches on our dear Uzukage in the eye. That deserves a reward. Tell your aunt and uncle I'll be stopping by with some of my famous octopus course meals then go help the rest of the class dust off."

Koshio vigorously nodded his head in excitement. "Yes ma'am."

"Let me guess what you're going to say to me." I cleared my throat and put on my best girl voice which sounded like a seagull choking on fish. "'I told you Uzukage that at least one of those kids would kick your butt and that you'll end up regretting underestimating my teaching skills.'" I raised an eyebrow at her, questioning her silently on whether I got the prediction right. Being a sparring partner for this class was easy in the beginning but those earlier times of overwhelming the kids with my power slowly dried away as Makio taught them more things about just being able to use the physical body as a weapon. Rubbing my now bruising right eye, I took the hand outstretched at me.

"He packs quite the punch, doesn't he?" I nodded. "Well adding in the extra practice he gets with Suzume then I wouldn't imagine him doing no less damage than that growing bruise on your face. You might want to put some ice on that."

Giving her a glare, I only walked off to the stairs. "Thanks for making me feel pathetic today Makio, definitely appreciate it." I waved a hand back at her, hearing that familiar condescending giggle. I really need to find some more friends to be with in the afternoons.

When I got back up to the surface into the bright midday light, I squinted a little and jumped back when Suzume appeared in front of me, a little too close to my face. She scrutinized the damage done on my eye than burst out laughing right there.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she wiped them away before they started falling. Clutching her stomach, a wheeze came out. "What…what ha…happened..pfft…to your face? Did Makio finally go off on you and attack you?"

"No, she isn't the one that gave me this black eye and don't worry, I'm doing just fine. I'm so grateful for the concern you have for my injured face. Don't worry; I'm just going to have someone give me ice for it." Walking past her, a hand grabbed out and held me at the wrist. "Let go of me." I hissed in annoyance. It was bad enough being teased about this without being held down but now that I am, my mood dropped so much more.

"Oh stop pouting like a child. You're supposed to be the Uzukage. This only proves that you are willing to look out for the feelings of the younger kids by letting yourself get a little…beaten." A laugh covered up by a cough came in between the silence.

"That's it, I'm really leaving now." Prying her hand off my wrist, I began to walk away when Nabuo came up. Oh great, just great.

"Um…. What's wrong with your face? Get bullied by some kids earlier?" He laughed but when he saw Suzume's face at the question, turned from her to me. "You're joking right? Some kid actually gave you that ugly looking thing?" When he tried to poke my injured eye, I slapped his hand away. Next thing I knew, I had spit in my face and Nabuo laughing right alongside Suzume.

Frowning, I turned my back to them and stomped my way to the central building. If I didn't get away from them, I might just kill them, or worse. Villagers asked me what had happened to me along the way and when I told them, they struggled to keep a straight face on. The respect is just overflowing today, isn't it?"

When Fumio and Hitoshi caught word of it, they came running to my door and sending it flying open. I looked up from my paperwork at them and sighed. Both were silently laughing, lips quivering from trying too hard at not smiling. "Just let it out already." I huffed and on that day, all of the island was in hysterics over my face.

Suzume's POV

Yesterday was just hilarious. To think that Makio and I trained Koshio well enough to do that to Naruto's face? It was priceless beyond belief. I made sure to get a picture of the special occasion and print off as many copies as I could. Koshio got one from me as a congratulatory gift for the accomplishment and Makio demanded that she got one to hang on her fridge. I made sure to hang one up just outside the door of the central building to help brighten up everyone's day…. Everyone except Naruto o f course. He moped about it in his office, doing paperwork without a single word. I sent Nabuo in a couple times to cheer the poor guy up but whenever I got back, Nabuo would be sitting outside the door with a bruised cheek.

"Stop wallowing in self defeat and cheer up would you? You gave everyone a good laugh yesterday and the kids over at the academy seem more confident about themselves. Shouldn't that be something to feel accomplished about?"

Naruto turned his head towards me before turning it the other side on the desk. Papers crumpled underneath him and I had to remove them before the tore them up. Such a child, really. There had to be some way of getting his spirits up again because I don't like being the adviser of depressed Naruto at all. It just felt awkward, like someone's cat or dog died just recently. Opening the pale blue curtains and opening the windows out, warm light entered the dark, dank room and the wonderful smell of the sea breeze carried away the depressing air.

Picking up the pride pummeled Naruto, she heaved him to the open window and grabbed his chin. "Look."

His eyes trailed down to the ground lazily and froze there. The kids from the academy and Makio stood waving up at us. They were smiling and calling them down.

"Uzukage-sama! Come spar with us again! Please?!"

"We've been waiting for days for you to come back and spar us again!"

"We miss you a lot, Uzukage-sama!"

Smiling, I peered at Naruto's face and saw a small smile and spark of the original energetic him. "Those kids have been waiting for you for the last couple of days, even Koshio. He's been asking me non-stop to bring you back. He thinks that the only way to get stronger is with you as a sparring partner and that's what the rest of them think too. Don't let this one little thing bring you down."

"But I'm supposed to be the Uzukage, I'm supposed to be strong enough to beat a group of kids that are barely ninjas."

"Well from what I saw and heard, that little event that happened means you're still learning how to be a proper kage." Naruto looked up at me and asked for clarity on what I was talking about. "You just barely started being a kage, and you're still a kid in a lot of ways, no one is going to judge you for slipping up once in a while. We're all still adapting to this whole thing here and you aren't any different from the rest of us. So stop drowning yourself in your injured pride and get down there. You have an obligation to those kids."

"An obligation?"

"Yes. And that obligation is to help them become shinobi who are fit to wear the symbol of this village on them." Giving him a light push to the door, Naruto thanked me before bounding through the door, hall, and out the door. Peering down, I saw him being engulfed in the hugs of dozens of arms and being led to the academy. "That guy, such an idiot." But he's a loveable idiot.

I closed the window but kept the curtains open. Organizing the papers into neat piles, I headed out and closed the door with a soft click. "I should enjoy my free day too." Making the final decision, I headed out in the directions of the businesses with a pocket full of money. Villagers passed me by, waving and greeting me. I waved and greeted back, occasionally stopping to converse before going on my way. Looking up I felt my smile grow wider. "This is going to be a good week, I can just feel it." But who would have thought that my prediction was off the mark enough to cause a ripple effect of worry to spread across our peaceful village.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Screams broke out as smoke restricted the oxygen. Fire caught on the trees and vegetation, roofs started to light, and people ran through the streets in panic. A lost child screamed for her mother, tears streaming down her small face. Only one of her pigtails were left as the other hair tie had fallen off somewhere leaving her pale yellow hair to fall to her shoulders.

No one paid heed to the child in all the chaos but a shadow zoomed over her small figure and grabbing a tight hold of the little girl, Maiko did her best to soothe the distressed child in her arms. "Shhh, shhh, it's going to be okay. I've got you. Nothing bad is going to happen while you're with me. Now let's get you to safety."

Nabuo was leading the elderly one by one into the underground part of the city praying that the fire wouldn't catch them or the intruders. He tried his best to hurry them along but when it came to the last, he was a man in his late eighties with bad back problems. Having lost his cane in the crowds of runners Nabuo had to carry him all the way back here. Now he would do the same again down into the underground. "Don't worry sir. I won't drop you and I'll try to make this is as comfortable as possible." Saying that, the old man got up onto Nabuo's back and they both descended to safety.

Fumio and Hitoshi rounded up the rest of the civilians to the other entrance points. Soon enough the village was left empty with only the crackling of burning wood and the falling of trees.

Naruto looked out over the destruction of his home and felt anger boil deep down inside him. The cage inside him started to shake with the same type of fury as him and his eyes soon went from a light sky blue to a bloody red with a black slit for a pupil. Canines began to replace his human teeth and red chakra bubbles started to form. Not only had the attackers riled up the wrath of the Uzukage but that of the Kyuubi. "Show yourselves!" He screamed out.

Koshio's POV

I woke up earlier tonight with my uncle picking me up in his shaking arms. He looked so scared as we went down the stairs and out of our home. I didn't understand what was happening until I smelt the smoke; saw the burning fire, and the screaming people. My aunt and cousins weren't far behind us and I wrapped my arms tightly around my uncle. No matter how brave I was at the academy and around my friends, something like this scared me and I buried my face into the crook of his neck. Tears started to fall and I couldn't help but started to bawl.

"I'm scared uncle." I whimpered.

"I know Koshio, I am too." And those words comforted me a lot more than being in his arms because I knew that even strong adults like uncle could get scared too.

We traveled to the entrances to the underground, a safe place that big sister Suzume mentioned to me before. She told me it had plenty of beds, food, and water for everyone to get a fair share. Big brother Uzukage built it when he thought about everyone. It's supposed to be a lot like the underground of the Academy. There would be a lot of hallways connecting into one big open area where everyone would be waiting.

By the time we got there, a line had formed outside the entrance. It was in one of the few caves on the outside of the village zone. None of the bad guys would be able to find us easily so we all managed to get in safely. The lights on the torches were already lit. Not far down I could hear the voices of other people already down there.

Uncle set me down on the ground but still made sure that I held his hand so that we wouldn't be located. Aunty put a gentle hand on my head and I felt a whole lot safer than before. My three younger cousins were still crying and I felt that it was my duty as the oldest out of the four of us to comfort them.

Taking Asao's hand, he looked up at me with the same grey eyes that I have. "I'm scared Koshio-niichan." The poor kid started to cry a lot harder than before.

"Don't worry Asao. I won't let anything bad happen to us. Remember, I am training to be a ninja and that means that I am already getting strong."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and that means that I am already strong enough to help uncle protect us and when I get older, I'll be able to protect you guys and uncle by myself."

"Woah…" Asao stopped the tears at the news. "I hope you get strong real soon Koshio-niichan."

I nodded and looked forward with a new determination. "I will, I promise Asao. I'll become real strong. Just like the Uzukage."

Nabuo's POV

Taking care of the elderly finished, I went up to the surface again. The fire was spreading but not too quickly. This would give me enough time to put it out with a water jutsu but I had to perform it in a high place. Clenching my teeth, I sneaked out and hid behind a restaurant menu sign.

"Where am I going to find a place high enough that isn't on fire and won't give me away?" Roughly tousling my hair, I ignored the second idea and decided to climb up the nearest pole. It would be high enough to perform the jutsu, right? Shaking my head at my doubt, I just went with the flow.

Concentrating the chakra to my feet I scaled the fifteen foot pole up and stood at the top with determination. I had to stop the fire no matter what it takes. Swiftly going through the hand signs, I was about to use the jutsu when a kunai pierced my hands. I held back a scream of pain, wincing as I used my mouth to pull out the weapon from my flesh.

An evil laugh drew my attention to the right. Standing there was a kid a little older than me with blonde hair tied up into a pony tail. He wore a black cloak with red clouds.

"Who the hell are you?" My voice came out angrier than I thought. "And why are you attacking our village. We haven't done anything."

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?"

I froze at the name. "I don't see why it's any of your business to know where he is, ever." The kunai was now held in my bleeding hands. I managed to cover them in water to stop the bleeding long enough. "Now leave! I'm not telling you where Naruto is!"

With an evil grin, he raised his hand and out from the mouth on his hands came clay birds. They flew at me and grew bigger the closer they got. I cursed again but under my breath and managed to jump away in time for them to explode.

What was that? And what the hell is up with that disgusting hand mouth thing? I hadn't read anything about this guy on any of the reports intercepted from other countries. "Who are you?"

"Me?" Smirking, "My name is Deidara and the guy who Is going to kill you." Summoning more of those damned clay creatures, I threw the kunai into the air wrapped in the explosive paper. "Don't think you can get away so easily, fool. I've got an endless supply waiting to tear you apart." And out of the smoke, as promised, came clay birds and spiders and other clay made living things.

"Water style: Urchin Sphere!" An outer layer of water surrounded me but left oxygen inside. Narrowing my eyes to concentrate better, I timed the attack perfectly. "Urchin spikes!" Water spikes stabbed out in every direction at the clay things. "Don't think you can win against me so easily you bastard. I'm not so simple that I would die by your hands."

"Oh really? Then let's test that out." Deidara launched more clay birds in my direction and every time I countered with my Urchin Sphere. When I noticed that he seemed to slow down with the attack the reason being he was running out of clay molds to use. A victorious grin showed up on my face when I realized that this would be the only time to take him down.

Breaking the sphere, I jumped up and roundhouse kicked the clay from Deidara's hand. "Let's see how good you are without that clay of yours." I went full out in trying to connect my punches and kicks. When a couple blows managed to land I finished with a heel hit to the top of his head. Watching him crash to the ground with a loud crash gave me satisfaction. "Not so cocky with a mouth full of dirt are you?"

Coughing and getting back up, Deidara smirked. "Not bad. Not bad at all. But that's all I'm going to give you."

"Bring it."

Naruto's POV

"So you're the Uzumaki brat that we're looking for? Not anything impressive to look at."

I stood there, feeling the anger boil up further and further to the surface. "Show yourself, or are you too much of a coward to fight me?"

A light chuckle seemed to come from all directions. Where was the bastard at? Is this some sort of genjutsu? I growled. "Now, now, no need to get so angry. I don't think you want go destroying your new home like you did all those years ago in Konoha, right? Or is it that evil fox chakra finally fried your brain?"

"I am not going to destroy anything but you when I get my hands on you. I'll tear your head off and burn your body. Just wait."

"Actually, I'm looking forward to that but I'm not sure if the body you're talking about will be mine or if it'll be just one."

My self control started to spiral out of control the more the voice taunted me. Fingers twitching and biting my lower lip, blood dripped down my chin onto my shirt. "I am the Uzukage of this country and the sworn protector of all those who call this place home. I will not lose myself because of some pathetic words you use to get into my head. I am not that weak and I will never be that weak." Slowly breathing out, I calmed my heart and felt the dark chakra recede back into the cage. "And I will fight and defeat you with my own strength, not with some chakra that isn't my own."

"The chakra that nearly destroyed Konoha and killed all those innocent people including your parents, including your first sensei's parents? The very chakra that belongs to a monster that should never have existed? You shouldn't even exist because you are the same as that thing inside of you, aren't I right? That's what your former comrades told you before abandoning you. So doesn't that mean it's the complete truth then? Everyone else believes it and the only one left is you but then again... I'm sure you are starting to believe it too. Right? Tell me I'm right."

"No! I am not a monster and I did not hurt all those people. The past of someone else doesn't define me! I am Naruto Uzumaki! I am a proud member of the Land of Whirlpools, I am the Uzukage, and I am the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!"

"Keep telling yourself that over and over because the more you tell yourself that, the faster those words lose all meaning and truth. You're living in the shadow of a cursed life. No matter how much you run away from this, that fox will always be bound to you even in death. And as you continue living on you'll only bring death, destruction, and misfortune to all those you love. I mean think about it, you're parents died binding that monster to you. Konoha was nearly destroyed trying to seal that beast in you. Hundreds of lives were taken: kids, parents, grandparents, friends, everyone. You are the living proof of a past no one wants to remember. A curse."

When I was about to snap, a drop of water fell down on my face. What? Rain? Now? But as it came pouring down to douse the flames, it stopped just as quickly as it came. It had to have been a jutsu... Nabuo. He managed to stop it all in time. Thank god. I smiled happily. The village was spared. "I'm not going to listen to you."

A light chuckle, "Are you running away again?"

"No, I'm facing my problems."

"Good, then killing you later would be more enjoyable. Be happy, I'm sparing your miserable lives but don't get too comfortable. This is only the beginning. Let's go, Deidara."

And then the voice ceased to exist. There were no answers no matter how many times I yelled and cursed at the wind. How could I have been stupid enough to let them escape? I slammed my fist into the ground as I slumped down to my knees. Water dripped down off my face and hair to plop down on the shingled roof. I felt Nabuo step up behind me but I chose to ignore him and he did well in giving me space. I kept slamming down on the roof until all the pent up aggression inside evaporated into nothing. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why?! Why am I so incapable?!"

"I don't know if this will make you feel better Naruto but at least next time, we'll be better prepared." Nabuo tried to comfort me the best he could and I felt a bit better.

Getting up and turning around, I gazed at my friend. We had been through so much together along with Suzume. The two always had my back and I couldn't ask for anymore and even now, despite what he had just seen, Nabuo gave me a small smile of strength. "Thanks... Did you get in any good hits?"

His face brightened up at the question. "Are you kidding me? Only good hits? I kicked and punched him enough times to probably add up to twice his age. If I didn't send him home with at least one broken bone then I won't stop hunting him down." I laughed.

Descending down the stairs, Nabuo went ahead to go down at tell everyone that things were okay now and that it was safe to come up. Assessing the scene, I couldn't bring myself to crack another smile looking at black fallen trees, charred roofs and walls, and some of the collapsed homes. Water from the rain dripped down into the puddles on the ground, reflecting the bright sky above. The storm had passed but I knew that it was only the beginning of something much bigger.

Footsteps running in my direction brought me out of the dark thoughts when bodies tackled me into hugs. Suzume had managed to get to me first, we stood there in that spot silently with each other, leaning into the comfort of the other. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Pulling away, I got serious. "How are the others holding up with what happened? No injuries right?"

"Yeah, no injuries. Just some shock is all. We managed to get everyone evacuated down. No losses from our side."

"No losses from theirs either."

Slightly looking disappointed, Suzume patted my shoulder. "Think of it this way. The next time we face them again, they won't be getting away anywhere near easy."

"Yeah."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Back in Konoha

"How is her condition? Any signs of her possibly waking up soon, Sakura?" Kakashi leaned on the door frame just outside the room where the Hokage had been treated for well over a year. Though the bandages had been removed long ago and her face started to look healthier, there were no other signs of life. The medical nin, well respected doctors, whoever could help, couldn't find a way to awaken the sleeping Lady.

Biting down on her lower lip, the pink haired kunoichi gently set her teacher's hand back down on the white bed. "Nothing, not even a twitch. Her heart rate and breathing are normal, all the injuries she got from...him have healed, but just nothing. I'm worried, sensei." Glazed green eyes filled with tears met with Kakashi's as they expressed the despair hidden away deep inside. "I'm worried that she won't wake up, that she'll die just like this. And I won't know until it's too late how to bring her back. I know that the Elders are trying their best to run the village but how long can they keep it up. Soon enough the daimyos will want us to appoint a sixth hokage. When that day comes..."

Kakashi straightened up and walked over to the other side of the bed. Pulling out the small wooden stool from the corner, he sat. "We just have to keep trying. Giving up now isn't going to help anybody. Instead of dwelling on what if's think about what else you can do to help Tsunade-sama."

"I know." She whispered. "And I'll try harder."

Days flew by, turning into weeks, when all the renovations for the buildings destroyed or ruined were finished. Everything that was being redone was made more sturdy. The foundations and walls were built from thick wood and stone. Though it was thicker it helped to trap in more heat and resilient against harsh winds. Everything got repainted a white and light blue paint. The village regained some of its clean and shiny air.

And while all this happened, life carried on in the once again expanding village. Migrants continued to flow in from all lands and backgrounds, new housing developments rose from the ground, and there was an increased number of students entering the academy. No, there were no older children than age seven but families brought in youngsters willing to learn early. A sort of festival was celebrated in the streets for a whole three days when no one worked, only got together with friends and family to enjoy the happiness spreading around. Not one single person felt fear of future dangers knowing that their Uzukage and his loyal circle of shinobi were protecting them.

Naruto's POV

Once again I was forced to go through piles of paper, reading and signing. My eyes hurt, my hands were cramping up, and I think I might be stuck in the hunched over position in my chair. Suzume had opened my windows for me so that I didn't feel quite so isolated. The sounds of dozens of conversations, the barking of dogs, and laughing of children soothed my irritation. Groaning, I sat up straight and felt my back pop.

"That felt good." Satisfaction washed over me in knowing that I wouldn't have to sit like this for much longer. "Just a little more to go and I'll finally be free. Yosha!" Pumping my fist I 'tackled' my enemy of the day with speed, feeling beads of sweat form on my forehead.

"Woah, why is it so hot in here? It's not that hot outside." Nabuo fanned himself with his hand when he realized that I was the source of the unknown heat. "Calm down Naruto. The world isn't going to end if you don't finish all that stuff by today. Suzume really needs to cut you some slack. You've been cooped up in here for the last couple of days."

I shook my head from side to side. "No, I need to finish this. If I have to come back in here tomorrow to write anymore on these documents I might just go insane."

Rolling his eyes, Nabuo took the pen from my hands and held it far away from my reach. "Go out and enjoy yourself, you need a break. I'll finish the rest of this stuff." I wanted to mention the wrath of Suzume but he cut me off before I could say it. "And I will explain to Suzume the situation. So go, hang out at the ramen shop, go spar with the kids, maybe go swimming or something, but I don't want you coming back here until tomorrow at the earliest."

Knowing that fighting back would only make us both tired, I gave in. "Okay, _mom_. I promise to go hang out with my friends instead of working." And ducking from the pen that Nabuo threw at my head I ran out the door with a small wave of thanks. "What should I do?... Ramen, definitely start off with ramen." I can control myself this time, I know it. I'll just eat one bowl, maybe two max.

Suzume's POV

Naruto told me one time that I reminded him a little of his old friend, Kiba, who was part of a clan that teamed up with dogs. I couldn't help but agree with him on that one. My ancestors had somehow managed to gather birds into relationships just like the Inuzaka clan. Using that special trait, I whistled into the forest. There was a flapping sound when a sparrow landed on my shoulder, chirping and twisting his head around.

"Moru, I need you to scout out on the waters. Report to me anybody or anything suspicious trying to get to the island's shores." He flew off with that command in mind and I watched as his small silhouette get smaller. "Good luck." I whispered before turning back and making my way back to the village streets. A couple of kids ran past me but made sure to bow at me, showing their high respect before continuing on to wherever they needed to be. Really, they didn't have to do that. Smiling, I passed the time by buying some groceries and flowers for my front downstairs window.

A chirping noise caught my attention when I reached out to open my door. Turning around to the sound I saw Moru flying towards me. He looked frantic.

Landing again on my shoulder and and speaking into my ear, my eyes grew round. "Good job Moru. I need to tell Naruto about this information, fast." Throwing the door open and setting down my things on the table, I put my hair up into a pony tail and ran out. "Moru, find Nabuo and tell him to meet me at the central building. Tell him that it's urgent."

I passed by pedestrians heading to the central building to warn Naruto. Nearly flying up the stairs and bursting through the closed door of the kage's office, I was met with an unpleasant surprise. Sitting in his chair and doing his work was Nabuo who sat there frozen, pen halfway down to the paper, with mouth open. "I can totally explain this," was his reply. Finding no time to scold him, I took in a deep breath.

Closing my eyes, I asked him, "Where is Naruto then?"

"I...don't know." He refused to meet my eyes when I opened them, disbelief a mask over my face. "Sorry."

An annoying twitch started on the outer corner of my right eye. Putting a hand over my face, I breathed in again and counted to five. "We have to find him. He needs to be with us when we get to the southern shore. We have guests coming."

"Guests? What are you saying? No one knows about this place being inhabited except a few people."

"Yeah and one of those few people are heading our way and if we don't give them a proper welcome, things could get a little sticky between us and them. So that's why I am saying we have to find Naruto as fast as physically possible. So if you're done sitting there gaping at me like a fish, help me."

Nabuo pushed himself up. "Where are the possible places to find him? The school would be one option."

I started to brainstorm other possible locations when a light bulb went off in my head. "What time is it right now?"

"Probably around lunch...Oh! I get it! The ramen shop! Of course!" Hitting his forehead with the heel of his hand, I shook my head and grabbed him by the arm. "Ow! You're going to rip my arm off Suzume!"

"Good."

When we arrived at the shop, the store owner looked so relieved with our presence. "Thank god you two are here. Please, calm the Uzukage down before he eats the rest of my week's supply."

I motioned for Nabuo to get Naruto out of the place before we saw ourselves going into debt for ramen. When Nabuo looked at me with a frown I gave him a stern look. It worked since he stomped into the building. A couple sounds of crashes and yells followed after his entrance before it turned out being Naruto dragging a slightly roughed up Nabuo. "What is it?"

"Visitors."

Nabuo's POV

Rubbing my ribs, I glared at the back of Naruto's head. "Thanks for the new bruises, I hope you feel proud of yourself for harming the messenger. Wouldn't want you to go walking around without feeling satisfied for beating up an innocent friend." A grunt was the only thing he replied with and I pouted. "Feeling the love." I muttered under my breath as we headed down south. It was one of the few locations where the tides weren't as harsh and the number of whirlpools could be counted on one hand.

I was curious on who was actually coming to meet us. Apparently it was a friend of ours that knew how to deal with the dangers skillfully. I had a hunch on who it was but I didn't want to think the worse of it. Suzume had been so adamant on having the three of us present for the occasion since it would make the guest feel more comfortable. I didn't really care for doing something like this but being the faithful person I am, I followed. If there was nay danger coming at Naruto, I needed to be there to watch his back. Sure Suzume is strong already but I am strong too and having two strong back ups instead of one is better.

"Do you see them Nabuo?"Naruto asked me.

"No, but maybe Suzume can ask one of her bird friends to go out and speak to them."

Suzume took a quick glance at Naruto's face before whistling. A seagull came flying out from behind one of the giant rocks located on the beach. It flapped in front of our faces, kicking up some sand that made me rub my watering eyes. "Go watch them but don't get too close. If you think there's any possibility of an attack, report back to me."

Naruto stood there with arms crossed, waiting for the arrival. He told me to create a safe passing with a jutsu to allow the boat heading our way to land. Very cautiously, I did so but made sure that if anything were to go wrong, I could just withdraw and let them be destroyed and drowned. When I saw the passengers aboard I felt instantly guilty for doubting them. There stood Gaara, serious and stoic just like his brother and sister. When they landed onto the beach they jumped out and walked slowly towards u.s

"Welcome, Gaara. What brings you to the land of Whirlpools? We weren't expecting you at all." Naruto held out a hand as the two young kage shook hands. "Why don't we got talk in my office, I don't think you want to sit on the ground and discuss whatever it is." Guiding the siblings, Gaara and Naruto talked all the way there. Though Naruto was the only one laughing the Sand kage cracked a smile every now and then. I made sure to keep a close eye on Suzume as she interacted with Temari. The two still couldn't seem to get along and I had a sneaking suspicion that the first time we met them when Suzume had been a bird, she did something to anger the Sand female.

Kankuro was doing the same thing as me, keeping a close eye on the two girls walking in front of us with bad electricity sparking around the them. He and I didn't exchange any words but there weren't any ill feelings towards one another. We could probably get along real well if it weren't for the job of playing babysitters for our companion. I still couldn't figure out the reason for the sudden arrival of the three sand ninjas but it seemed to be something urgent.

Arriving at the central building with curious onlookers, I opened the doors for the party. We made our way up to the top floor and set ourselves down on the three sofas inside the office looking out through the windows onto the village and beautiful view of the ocean.

"Alright then Gaara. What's the occasion?" Naruto asked out of nowhere, no warning and making me jump at the sudden loud noise. "You said it's something really important, right?"

"Correct. I came here to warn you. The other nations have noticed odd activity happening on this island, seeing boats head out and most of them come back. They didn't know the cause of it and went to question some of those who had come back to the main land. Apparently they told of a new home available to those who needed it and of a man leading all of this."

Silence. That's all that filled the room. Not even the sounds of the outside world reached the room.

"The nation most concerned about the activity is Konoha. They think that this place has a connection to the massacre that happened last year with the Black Phoenix organization and their mysterious deaths."

Suzume and I stiffened. Those Konoha ninjas weren't wrong on their theory. We had hoped that killing topic would have died out, no pun intended. Naruto was the only one who stayed casual about what the Kazekage said. He laughed. "And how did they come up with something like that exactly? I think they need a little more evidence than some hunch to accuse us of doing such a thing. And even if we did do it," A glint sparkled in his blue eyes, "I don't see why it would concern them in any way."

Gaara couldn't help but agree. "True but it doesn't matter what we think. They're sending out ninjas to scout this place out and have a word with you about the idea. I only came here to warn you of that since we are allies... and friends."

Naruto laughed and got up to make his way towards the window. The light cast only a dark outline and shadow of him. "If they are coming to confront of us of killing the Black Phoenix and to find out some information on us, then let them." He turned around but none of us could see the expression on his face. "We will be prepared for them. We won't be afraid. Tide ninjas are strong in our own ways. Anyways, thank you for the warning, Gaara. I appreciate the heads up."

They exchanged a few more words before leaving. Suzume went along with them, guiding them back to the safety of their boat. She knew a safer but longer route for them to take that would lead them out of the whirlpools. That left Naruto and me.

"You alright with how this is turning out? About how things are going to turn out?"

He turned gave me a sad smile. "Yeah, I mean... this had to happen eventually. I just hoped..." Trailing off, I could already guess what he was going to say next from the way he turned towards the window again with that distant look. I knew him too well already.

"You just hoped that it didn't have to start off like this. Being put in the spotlight for what happened with those...bastards. But we would have had to confess osme time soon anyways. We couldn't have possibly prolonged this any longer than now."

"You're right, which creeps me out. Usually you just try to crack a joke and make me laugh when it comes to serious things like this." I shrugged. "But thanks Nabuo. I think you helped to make this a little easier for me to work with. I just have to stay strong and... hide my face!" He snapped his fingers at the idea.

Opening my mouth to object I closed it. There's no point. If this could make it just a bit easier for him to deal with then I will take what I can get. "Better pick soon because from what Kankuro told me before leaving, Konoha will make sure that they send their best here today and those whirlpools won't hold them back forever. So go pick a mask color and hope that they don't demand you take it off."

"Right."

Naruto's POV

With Suzume, Nabuo, Hitoshi, Fumio, and Makio at my side, I stood waiting for the inevitable. Why did they have to decide to do this now? Why couldn't I have been more secretive and aware of how suspicious I made us look? Groaning, I wanted so bad to back out of this and just scare them off but Nabuo shook his head when I began to turn around.

"Be brave." Suzume encouraged me.

Makio gave me a light punch on the shoulder. "You'll do great and plus, the five of us are here. We've got your back so there's no need to worry."

Hitoshi showed me the fatherly smile I have grown to like so much and a double thumbs up. Fumio held tightly to his book and pushed his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. I knew he was trying to find some words of comfort but having him there was already enough for me to stand tall.

"Get ready you guys, Moru says that they're already waiting on the other side. All we need to do is have Nabuo open a passage for them."

Nabuo looked at me and I nodded. "Do it, I'm ready. And I won't run away this time."


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura'sPOV

How long have we been waiting here for the so called passage to open for us? The whirlpools were too powerful for us to cross with boat or of us were strong enough to manipulate this strong of water so that left us stranded. When I started to give up hope of ever finding a cure for Tsunade-sama here on this mysterious island i heard the gasps of the others around me. Sharply turning my whole body around i saw the most amazing thing. Not only had the whirlpools stopped and the waters surrounding us calm down,the boat seemed to be lifted up and brought us forward closer to the shore.

"Who is doing this?" Gai sensei asked throwing up still on the side of the boat looking greener than his vest. "They're making this boat shake too mu-" Another wave of sickness overcame him. He leaned half his body over the side again throwing up again and again. When the tremors ceased he continued to hang there like a limp flower. I thought that he had fainted but Kakashi-sensei confirmed my suspicions by saying something to him and gaining a moan for a response.

Shikamaru refused to look in the direction of the sickly man, dubbing him too disgusting. He had thought the assignment was a drag. The only reason he came was because his dad told him to.

When I noticed the boat drop down and with a bump, becoming still, I knew that was the cue to step down. I followed Kakashi sensei as he lead us all down. There were five of us. Kakashi sensei, Gai sensei, Shikamaru, Sai, and me.

Halting, a group of ninjas blocked our path. We didn't recognize any of their faces specifically the one in the middle wearing a white fox mask and hood. The only thing giving away his position was the white Haiti with blue waves across the bottom, sides of the opening, sleeve cuffs and collar. He held an air of power and I couldn't help but feel a bit if fear. Those were the only physical characteristics I could guise from just seeing him from ten feet away. Despite the fact that the mask showed no cruel expression or even had a mouth, a cold chill traveled down my spine despite the warm weather. Looking at it bought back the memories of that day and what had happened before and after. All the blood, every tear I shed, the raw emotions bubbling inside came rushing back into my thoughts. No, I can't get distracted now of all times.

Despite the tense air, Kakashi sensei took a step forward. "We are sorry for coming here so unannounced but we are shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village. We were ordered by our Hokage," the word was strained. "To investigate the island. There have been reported suspicious activities from local countries seeing boats travel here."

"That's correct." The girl with long brown hair, young and with a sparrow on her shoulder, glared at us with murder in her eyes. Killing intent seeped off her. Why? Is it because we landed on their home?

Kakashi sensei didn't show any signs of intimidation despite the fact that they outnumbered us by one more and looked fairly strong. "Is there a village being formed on this island?"

"We don't see how that concerns you." It was the blue haired boy that spoke next. His appearance felt familiar, similar to something Hinata had talked about.

"Wait, Kakashi sensei, Gai sensei, Shikamaru, haven't you met the two of them before?" I asked without thinking. Crap.

Shikamaru nodded. "You guys are the ones we met that day outside our borders. I always wondered where you were heading. And this is the place, huh?" He peered around at the surroundings. Right where the sand ended was the trees, growing bigger the further back you looked. "Not bad."

"Thank you." This time the girl replied. "Now why don't we take this opportunity to go somewhere more private. Follow us and don't stray too far from the group."  
We looked at Kakashi sensei, him being the leader of the mission, and followed his lead. Walking for about ten minutes the not too distant sounds of people were heard. The trees began to grow more sparse and the ground become more leveled and clear.

A giant stone archway decorated with tropical flowers where butterflies and bees fluttered around were bold black letters spelling out "Uzushiogakure". Passing under the arc and into the beginning part of the new village, there were white buildings with blue roofs on every side. Shops were crowded with customers of all ages, houses had windows open to the fresh air, and people crowded the dirt streets. I saw dogs barking and cats lounging wherever they could be undistrubed, birds chirped on ledges and windowsills, it all looked so ideal, like a dream.

Hitoshi's POV

I maintained a calm exterior but inside I felt like killing them. Being a father I knew how to keep my temper in check and stay patient so nobody was without a limb but at least my children know how to respect others and to treat them right. They knew how that the way one treated another reflected their moral judgement and in a way, reflected the family as well. However, here were five people from a past the Uzukage struggled to overcome showing their faces and barging in without even a formal permission to even do so. How barbaric.

Peeking from the corner of my eye, I brushed over the silver haired ninja. Apparently he was the leader of the group. One eye was the only thing uncovered by his black face he sensed me looking, we made eye contact that lasted for a brief minute but there was a fire in them, a sort of determination. They had some other reason for coming here besides checking on us. Sensing the potential danger in these strangers, I kept myself on high alert with hands twitching to the kunai in my side weapons pouch. How could we trust them so easily when it was quite likely that they weren't telling us the whole truth for this unwelcome invasion on our home.

Walking through the village and hearing the whispers, I smirked. Nobody trusted these outsiders after hearing about Naruto's past just like me. Sure the kid is the jinchuriki of the kyuubi but that isn't a good enough reason for isolation and bitterness. The disgust I felt for those Konoha people and the rest of the Fire country grew every time I saw the kid laugh and smile. That's the two things they took from him when he lived with them. A happy life filled with trustworthy friends and family. Where was the village loyalty and faith? Didn't they know what those two words meant or did it only apply to those they themselves considered worthy of the stupid 'honor'?"

"Just through this door and up the stairs to the top." Suzume was just as tense with the rest of us, wanting to do the same as me. "We'll have privacy up there." Though she was speaking to them not once did her eyes meet theirs.

"Thank you." The silver hair didn't seem like much of a talker. Naruto leaned in towards me while we climbed the grey stone stairs. It spiraled up two floors.

Whispering almost inaudibly, he said, "Make sure to keep a close eye on them. I don't want them out of sight at any given time. If they find out our secrets, especially my identity, we could be facing a catastrophe." Naruto stared into my eyes with concern. Glancing down at the hand so close to the pouch a corner of his mouth quirked up. "Keep that hand close, Hitoshi."

"Yes, Uzukage-sama."

I opened the door for the others and watched each file in. The pale white boy with a sword slung over onto his back glanced up at my face with dark eyes, an emotionless mask for a face made me twitch. He gave me the biggest creeps. How could someone look that stone cold? "Please, take a seat on the couches." They gladly sat down. I chose to stay standing by the door after closing it with a soft click.

Naruto walked around his desk to sit on the chair, folding his hands under his chin. The fox mask with no mouth had an indifferent face, just staring at the audience with soulless eyes. I wonder what his expression is like under there, sad or maybe guarded.

"Now tell me, why have you come here?"

Naruto's POV

"I will not answer anything you ask me until you answer my question." I kept my voice low and rough so that it didn't sound anything like me. My voice would give me away real fast if they hadn't already forgotten about my existence... Not likely, not if Granny Tsunade was still lying on that cold hospital bed unresponsive to the world around her. "Go on, I'm waiting."

Kakashi-sensei was the one to speak out considering the fact that none of the others even bothered to open their mouths. "We came here in hopes of possibly finding the suspects for the murder case of the Black Phoenix just last year and to also find out the reasons for the re-establishment of the Land of Whirlpools."

I titled my head a little to my left. So they had already managed to trace it directly back to them but considering the fact that we were a little too careless on escaping this was to be expected. Konoha wasn't as stupid as I presumed them to originally have been. "Yes, that is correct. We are the ones who disposed of the Black Phoenix. And the settling of this land was for the people on this island, for the families who had long ago been forced to flee from here in the bloody war that occurred long ago on this land. Is there a problem?"

Shikamaru was the next to speak. "Yeah it is actually. You see, our elders are concerned with the fact that this village could become just as dangerous as before. We were sent here to guarentee that there won't be any trouble in the future and hopefully create an alliance between Konoha and Uzushiogakure since the two of us are practically neighbors."

"No." I responded right away. I would not create a treaty with them. Not now, not ever. Having the aid of Suna was good enough for me, we would stay a peaceful country anyways. "I won't be making any sort of alliance with your village. So if that is all you are here for," I got up. "You may leave this island and never come back. I seek no political partnership with your country or village. We are a peaceful people that do not want to be supported by people like you." Hatred dripped from every word I said after rejecting their offer.

Shikamaru sat there stunned. I had given him a response that didn't sit well in his highly intelligent mind. "But...but why?"

"Because I do not think that creating any sort of bond with those of Konoha or the rest of the Fire Country would only turn into a bloody mess."

"What is that supposed to mean? I'm sorry for my rude behavior, Uzukage, but this is could be a good deal for you and your people. We could offer you resources and help!" Sakura stood up and started to raise her voice at me. My eye twitched. Next thing I knew Suzume was at Sakura's throat.

"How dare you, to raise your voice against our Uzukage, wench. Know whose presence you are in and on whose land you are standing on. You are alive only because we are allowing it, understand me?"

I waved a hand. "Release her, Suzume. She is not worth wasting your energy on. Don't dirty your hands with _her _blood or any of _theirs'_, it would only bring bad luck you yourself." She bowed and backed away but not without shooting a cold glare at the gasping girl on the floor. A bruise started to color her throat. "Fumio, please heal that for her, I wouldn't want her to return home with their elders accusing us of attacking her."

Kakashi checked over Sakura before turning back to me, "I apologize for my student's actions. We have all been under some stress lately after the incident that happened to our Hokage not too long ago."

"Yes, how is she doing?"

"Well, all her injuries have long healed and now all that we are waiting for is to see her eyes open." I couldn't help but feel sad at the news. No matter how long I tried to forget those feelings from when I lived in Konoha it all seemed to fade away once I set eyes on my former teammates and friends. "Now we shall take our leave. Thank you for willing to have a meeting with us out of the blue like this."

"Of course, allow my two men to escort you back." Nabuo and Hitoshi took that as their cue to round up the five foreign ninjas out the door, down the stairs, and out of the village. I breathed out the breath I didn't know I was holding ever since they left the room. Leaning back into the grey chair, I stared up at the ceiling and removed the mask. "Think they had any idea it was me?"

"No, you're good." Makio beamed at me. "You did good hiding your voice. Totally loved it."

Kakashi's POV

The two led us away to the shore where we had landed. Neither talked to us the whole way and it gave myself time to think over what happened. The Uzukage had rejected Shikamaru's offer to create an alliance between our two countries, blatantly refusing with so much ferocity and... anger? It all seemed strange, that word. Anger perfectly described how the people of the island treated us. There was so much contempt and bitterness towards us when we had done nothing wrong.

Boarding our boat and once again being lifted with water, I looked back to see the man performing the jutsu. It was the young boy, around Sai, SHikamaru, and Sakura's age, with dark blue hair. Not once did he struggle to keep control. He had strong control of his chakra and concentration for someone so young. Uzushiogakure has some strong shinobi defending its borders. No doubt that if we had attempted to escape or attack them there would be more casualties on our side from only two of them then there would be for them.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sakura, why?"

"You look like your in pain."

I chuckled lightly. "No I'm not in pain, just impressed."

Sai overheard our conversation and asked me, "Why? How can you consider those people impressive?"

"Because of how quickly they established themselves. Did you see? All those buildings so perfectly built and the happy faces on each person we passed by on those streets, they were done well. Whoever that Uzukage is, he knows what he is doing."

Shikamaru was the next to interject. "But the part that creeped me out about that man was the mask."

"The mask?"

He nodded, "Didn't it seem a little weird to be having to wear a mask? Most people powerful like he is would be proud to show their visitors their face to imprint it into our minds but he didn't. Not only that, it sounded like he was trying to disguise the real sound of his voice by talking in a lower octave."

I pondered on that information and found it pretty plausible. I wanted to confirm with Gai on that but he was too busy dealing with his horrible sea sickness. "You're right, Shikamaru. The way he acted was too rigid and closed off. The mask was also a bit of an overkill. No kage would wear something like that and even if they did, the eyes would at least be showing."

"Then why?" Sakura asked, obviously curious about the reason on which I couldn't even answer properly to myself. "Maybe there is more to that Uzukage then we originally thought?"

"Then there is a secret more important than keeping this island a secret, is that what we are assuming, Kakashi-sensei?" Sai couldn't quite wrap his mind around the mask idea.

"Yes." I answered. "That mask is hiding more than just his face but his name, his past, a connection we aren't quite sure of."


	13. Filler

Sorry everyone for the slow updates so far. Missing a day of school really kills you, not literally of course. I'm working on chapter 13 already. I will try to update every two days at the most but that won't be a set guarantee. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story and if any of you have a better title, don't be afraid to tell me. There is already another story with the same title as this and I really don't think that's ideal.

Thanks to all those who chose to either follow or favorite this.


	14. Chapter 13

(I hope you enjoy this newest chapter in the story. I made sure to make it a little longer than usual.)

Gathering together, the five kages kept glancing at each other. Despite the peace promise no one trusted each other. Attendants stood ready to protect their leader when danger appears. Sitting down at the round white table it was the two elders currently running Konoha that started the meeting.

Clearing her throat, Koharu started to speak. "I believe we all know the reasons for calling this meeting into order. Reports have been put in of mysterious activities surrounding the Land of Waves. Despite having been uninhabited by permanent residents, a group of our Leaf ninjas were sent out to investigate. They came back with the news of there being a re-established land and more specifically, Uzushiogakure."

It was the Tsuchikage who blurted out, "That's impossible! That island is just a piece of history, ruins." His small stature only made him want to shout louder. Uzushiogakure was destroyed years ago, fighting and deaths have scarred the people that those who survived fled to new homes in order to start fresh. If what the elder was saying is in fact true, there could be a battle on their hands. Oonoki couldn't help feeling like this would all end in chaos for both sides.

"Please, Koharu-Sama, explain to us how this even came about." Mizukage, Mei Terumi, wanted the full details open to her. If there were even a small chance of danger being present, she would need all she could get to find out the weaknesses of her future enemies. "You must have been able to find some information concerning this revival."

Homura cleared his throat, raising a fist to his mouth as a polite habit. "I understand your concern, Mizukage, and we are willing to disclose the little knowledge we have obtained from them through our scouts."

Gaara fidgeted ever so slightly. He should have warned Naruto sooner because if he had, a meeting such as this would not be happening right now. Having to deal with the situation already unfolding before him the young Kazekage merely sat while the commotion of the other four kages continued on. He would only be an onlooker today. And if things were to go from bad to worse he would step in to alleviate the problem.

"One of our men, Kakashi Hatake, had made the trip with four other members handpicked by him. They boarded a boat and set out to the new old , they were faced with the issue of overcoming the dangerous waves and whirlpools naturally being formed around the island. We had failed to take into consideration that factor and sent out a signal." Homura paused to let it all sink in. "The next thing any of them knew, the waters had been calmed along with the pools and the boat was somehow able to be lifted with the same water onto the shores. Kakashi, on the way back to Konoha, had seen the face of the ninja capable of doing something so difficult. It was a young boy, the same one who had been sighted around our borders are in other countries with dark blue hair, performing such a feat. He, sadly, could not identify what the jutsu was."

"How is that possible?!" Questioned the Raikage slamming his fist down on the table that it shook and left a little crack on the surface. "How is it possible for him not to be able to recognize it?! No child should be capable of performing something like that without help or dying!" Everyone had to agree with the angry, large man.

Koharu raised her hands at him to calm himself down. "We understand your thoughts on this Raikage-sama but there is more that we need to tell you. There had been another observation made that a female within the village also had abilities similar to those of one of our own clans, to be able to have the willing aid of an animal. A girl, young as well, was able to summon birds to her side and considering the fact that she was also sighted in all of our own countries, can take the form of a bird as well."

A silent shock fell upon the room from the kages to their entourages. There were two gifted ninjas already present on that secret island. How many more were those people hiding behind the nearly impenetrable waters? Could their numbers be dangerous enough to be considered a liable threat? So many questions ran through each head present in the room, even Gaara's, that no one talked for a good five minutes.

"Do they have a leader?" Oonoki inquired.

"Yes, but Kakashi nor the rest of his team have seen his face during the time they were there. They had managed to see the village itself but nothing more than that. He described them as being wary and cautious of them but also slightly agressive and apprehensive at answering their questions or even allowing them out of site." Homura answered. "But he did say that the man was referred to as the Uzukage, wearing a white fox mask."

"Naruto, you truly do not fail to surprise me sometimes." Gaara thought, a small smile dancing on his lips.

Hoshi's POV

Morning came and I felt excited knowing that I'd get to go to another day of ninja training. Makio-sensei made sure to pay lots of attention to each of us and even though at the beginning there weren't a lot of us but now there are two first year classes with sixteen people each. Fumio-sensei decided to help out until someone else could replace him. Personally, I think Fumio-sensei is great.

"Hoshi! Come down for breakfast before you get going!" My aunt was downstairs making me some rice and meat to eat. She always does this for me and the rest of the family saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. One time when I decided just to stuff everything into my mouth she yelled at me telling me that it's a bad habit to get into. That was the last time I did anything like that not because of what she said but how she said it. My aunt gets real scary when she gets mad.

"Coming!" I run down the stairs and jump right into my seat. With a fork in my left hand and spoon in my right, I say, "Itadakimasu!" and dig right in. Today is just as delicious as yesterday.

Uncle came down next with my cousins rubbing their eyes sleepily behind him. "Good morning, Hoshi. Ready for another day at the academy?" There were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth. My uncle is real funny and fun. He acts more like a kid than I do sometimes when aunty isn't looking. He works as one of the builders who help make new houses and other stuff every day. Suzume-onee san even said that uncle was a real big help whenever he went to work.

"Of course I am! Maiko-sensei said that we are going to learn the transformation jutsu today." I stuffed some meat into my mouth. "She said that whoever could transform into the coolest thing would get a prize."

"And are you going to be the person to do that?"

"Yes! I made sure to study real hard on what FUmio-sensei told us about the jutsu and I know I'll be able to do it."

Uncle laughed, "Well then when you get the prize, make sure to share with me." He gave me a wink.

I shook my head from side to side, giggling. "No way, if I share then you'll hog it all for yourself."

"Darn, found me out already. You're getting smart kid, too smart for this man to be tricking you so easily." He teased me as he picked up the newspaper. "But don't forget to keep it safe, alright?"

"Okay." I chewed and swallowed the rest of the food on my plate. I got up from my seat, picked up the dirty dishes, and set them down in the sink. "I'm off." Kissing my aunt on the cheek and cousins and fist bumping with uncle, I ran out the front door into the bright light of the morning sun. "I can do this. Come on, Hoshi. You've got this in the bag. Suzume onee-san even complimented you on your technique and everything. Focus. Just believe."

_At school_

Makio-sensei stood in front of our class with a big smile on her face that went from ear to ear practically. Clapping her hands together, she said, "Class, today is a very exciting day for you all. We are going to be learning the transformation jutsu." There were cheers. "And whoever at the end of the day thinks they are good enough may try to impress me by changing into the coolest thing you can think of for three seconds. From there we will all decide the winner. Okay?"

"Yes, Makio-sensei." We answered back.

"Okay then, then let's get going on learning how the technique works. After that, we'll go down into the sparring arenas and practice."

My friend, Tetsuya, tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around wondering what he wanted. "How do you think you'll do? I think I'm not going to even be able to get the hand signs right." His face told me about how nervous he was at failing and being teased about it for the rest of the year.

"I think I'm going to do great and you will to, just have faith in yourself and it'll be alright from there. Trust me."

Tetsuya nodded but didn't say anything. Did I say something wrong?

_After school_

I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! I failed, I actually failed! I could do the hand signs and change but I couldn't hold it for even a second and when I went up to show what I could do to everyone, all I could do was change into a frog. A frog! That's not cool or interesting. Out of all the other animals I could have been, it's a frog. Dragging my feet back home, I couldn't help but be embarrassed about the whole thing. Everyone laughed at me and Tetsuya won. He got to get extra lessons and go out and eat delicious seafood free, all you can eat too.

Going home and telling everyone about my failure is going to be disappointing. After all the practicing I did at home and outside, I couldn't do it. I sighed and continued walking.

"Hoshi? What's wrong?" I met Suzume nee-san on the corner before my house. "You look way too sad right now. DId something bad happen at school today?"

I didn't want to tell her so I shook my head silently while staring at the ground. Even she would make fun of me even after she helped me.

Bending down in front of me, she lifted my chin up with her hand. "You're sad about the Henge jutus, aren't you." It wasn't really a question, more like a fact that I nodded to. Gentleness rippled off her. Bringing me into her arms for a hug I eased up a little. "Don't worry. Not everyone gets the hang for it the first time around. You just need to practice more and before you know it, you'll be able to do it with your eyes closed and without thinking."

"How can you be so sure, Suzume onee-san?"

Darting her eyes from side to side, she leaned into my ear, cupping her hands and whispered something. "Naruto had a problem with Henge at first too and even making a copy of himself."

I gaped at her with round eyes, shocked at what she just told me. Naruto Uzumaki, the great Uzukage of tUzushiogakure, had those kinds of problems when he was younger? I always thought he was born as awesome and as powerful as he is now, guess I was wrong. "Did he practice?"

"Of course he did. He told me that he practiced constantly after failing his academy exams twice, to master it. When he did, it was all worth it. I mean, look at him now. He's able to do the Kage Bunshin with lots of clones." I smiled at her. "And the most important things he needed was patience and determination."

Patience and determination, those were the two things that gave Naruto-sama the ability to do some of the amazing things he knows now. Maybe it wasn't so bad not being able to Henge just yet. "Thanks Suzume onee-san. I'm not going to stop training until I master the Henge and show Makio-sensei just how good I got from patience and determination."

Laughing, Suzume onee-san stood up straight and ruffled my hair, 'That's right! Now you better get going home before your aunt and uncle get worried."

Fumio's POV

Class today was just as hard as all the previous days. Not only were the kids getting louder and more rambunctious, they were getting cockier too. Thinking themselves so much stronger one of the students challenged me to a match when I reprimanded him for disrupting the learning environment. No, I didn't hurt him physically though I can't say the same for his pride. Not only did I put him in his place but I also made sure to make an example out of him. Now the students give me much more respect and more respect to each other too.

Makio had fallen into hysterics when I told her what I had done. She found it quite amusing that someone like me had managed to discipline anyone. I understand me being much more quiet and level-headed but that does not mean I appreciate being challenged the way that I was. Children early need to learn to respect authority.

Resting in the comfort of my home, I felt all the stress of the day melt away. I chose to change into my yukata and grab a book of one of my many shelves lining the walls of my home. "Ah, the history of the origins of shinobi bloodlines."

Sunlight cast shadows around the small study room and as it traveled across the darkening sky, the shadows seemed to dance around from place to place. Nothing could ruin this peace for me and when a annoying tapping on my door made me realize how I jinxed the moment, I cursed myself all the way to the entrance. Slightly opening the door I peeked out to see Nabuo standing there ready to have another round of knocks. "Hey."

I frowned at his sudden appearance. "What do you want, Nabuo-san?"

"Oh, you know. Just wanted to stop by, see how you're doing and all that."

"I am doing just fine, thank you for coming to ask such an... important question." I closed the door to only have it be caught by Nabuo's foot. "What do you want?" I huffed, opening the door wider.

Nabuo puckered his lips, a thinking face that held the ugliest attraction. "I wanted to know if you could find a way for me to find out information about the other countries on the mainland, in case of ay attack coming our way in the future."

"You mean a history book on each of the nations to gather intelligence on their weaknesses." Nabuo nodded. "Seems odd that you would want something like that to read. I inferred you to be someone more into playing games with the children or annoying the Uzukage with your annoying whines. Are you ill?" I fanned through the multitudes of books I own.

"Ha ha, very funny Fumio, but I'm being serious right now. I want to be able to strike at a moments notice. Who knows when they could come popping out like groundhogs just to take us down."

"But they aren't our enemies." I had to point out that the other countries had no interest in our land. What have we done besides live out our daily lives? "I don't see what preparing for someone that will never come seems a pointless strategy, Nabuo." I could practically hear the gears turning in his head as my back was to him. "I am advising you to stop this foolishness before someone gets hurt, mainly you. Uzukage-sama would not appreciate hearing one of his close friends training to kill."

Snorting, Nabuo didn't even bother to listen to me. "Just give me the book Fumio and I'll be out of your hair. I've got a good feeling that I'm going to need all the information you've got stored in this house, and fast." I heard his footsteps come closer to me until he stood right beside me, leaning his body forward but looking at his left at me. "Pleaese."

The genuine nervousness glimmering in his eyes broke down my walls and I conceded. "Fine, fine. Have it your way but when that so called "feeling" turns out to be nothing but a sham, I'm going to be waiting for you with an 'I told you so'." Handing him the book, he took it with a quick hand. "Be safe Nabuo."

"Don't worry Fumio, I'm going to be just fine but I can't say the same for whoever tries to mess with Uzushiogakure and me." I smiled at that comment. Despite how faithful of a person Nabuo was there can never be a force in this universe stopping him from doing crazy things once he sets his mind to it. "Later! I promise to bring the book back just as clean and neat as you gave it to me!" And with that final farewell, I saw him race out the door and into the streets, swerving passed bodies heading in the opposite direction.

I shook my head in disbelief and gently shut the door. "He really is stubborn."

Gaara's POV

Having sat in the summit meeting for practically the whole day, I felt relieved at knowing that I could finally go home. Temari and Kankuro chatted between themselves about what had been relayed during the time I spent thinking of how to get a message to Naruto. The two elders from Konoha who had called his all into order divulged every drop of information they could find.

"Gaara, we should head back to the village quickly. You still have paperwork to finish before the sun sets." Temari was always the serious one out of us three siblings. She took after father in the sense of duty to the village. "So we should get going."

Kankuro agreed too. "Who knows what could have happened while we were gone. Those fan girls of yours could have set the whole village up in flames somehow on not having you back sooner."

I internally groaned. Along with the respect that comes with being the Kazekage there was also the added burden of having females fawning over me. Couldn't they understand the fact that I have no interest in any of them right now? "Don't remind me Kankuro. Thinking about it is already giving me a headache and I prefer to travel without worry."

"Okay, I get it."

"Thank you."

"But how do you plan to deal with this, Gaara?" My sister asked me, she too was worried about the outcome of this gathering of the kages. "If they decide to launch an attack against Naruto, we will have to fight them too. The treaty demands us to help them in their time of need."

I glared at her before turning my head forward again. We were traveling quickly. "There is no demands made by the treaty. We are helping him because he is a friend to the Sand. Do you understand?" My tone was razor sharp around its edges, daring Temari to argue with me.

"Of course not. It's just that the others could see it as an act of betrayal... Especially if they figure out the darkest secret of that island village."

None of us spoke a word to that logic. How could we explain that we only made an alliance without knowing the contractor of the other side of the deal only to secure some power? That wouldn't come off as being the least bit truthful. "I will figure something out. I am not going to let there be blood shed on that land once more. It has seen enough darkness to last an entire lifetime."

She nodded but said nothing afterwards. Kankuro looked between the two of us and heaved a large sigh. "Gaara, you know what you are doing right? This could turn dangerous for us as much as it will for them. They have an advantage with those tides but all we have is the desert." I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands. "If they make the choice between us and them, we'll be the ones who'll be wiped out first."

"I know." I hissed between teeth clenched so tight together I thought they were going to permanently stay that way. "I am taking those things into consideration. Give me time to think all this over, whether it's worth going through or not." But I already knew the answer to my last statement. This would all be worth it because Naruto became something to me on that day I transformed. He became a friend, a savior, someone who I could talk to freely about the pain and isolation, about the sadness and loneliness, he became someone who could sympathize with me. And for all that, this is but a small price to pay to repay him for the kindness he gave to me. "I'll figure something out." I say one last time before traveling off into the distant horizon.


	15. Chapter 14

Gaara did not know how to feel right then. On one hand the other kages had come to the conclusion of not being involved in the happenings of Konoha for they would only meet with uneeded trouble. On the other other hand, Homura and Koharu still chose to continue with their original plan. Despite the situation not blowing up into an issue that would be difficult to solve, Konoha still would not relent on destroying Uzushiogakure. This was to be expected.

Looking out over Suna was Gaara, the sand blowing winds swirling around him as if worshipping him. The village had grown just a little over the span of a few months to accomadate for the growing population. There were the tall mud walls surrounding the buildings and desert hawks flying high up in the bright, clear blue sky of the morning. "What are you going to do, Gaara?" asked Temari. She stood a little ways behind him, arms crossed and waiting for the order.

There was silence before he spoke out in a whisper that seemed to drift. "We must report the news to the Uzukage. This may be a simple battle of fear on Konoha's part but none of it will be easy." Turning his head to the side so that one eye stared at his sister, she could not fully read his expression because of the sun's light shining down. "They will send their best ninjas to destroy them, and some will be faces too familiar to him. He will falter long enough to allow an opening in his defense for them to land a strike. We cannot allow something like that to happen."

"I understand." She disappeared to repeat the message to Kankuro who sat on the floor of his room doing the monthly maintenance check of his puppet. Knocking then entering the semi-small room, there was merely a single bed, table, window, and lamp. Her older brother's smaller puppets sat ligned on the shelvings at the entrance, deisplayed on either sides of the cream colored walls. At one time they had given her the creeps as small child with their unblinking, souless eyes staring right at her and seeming to follow her every step. They had given her nightmares at a young age, haunting and mysterious, inanimate objects that came to life with strings of chakra embedded into them. Now though, they were merely what they were named, puppets.

Kankuro looked up stopping midway to strengthen the chakra strings keeping his doll and its weapons together. "What is it? Did Gaara make his decision?" When he saw her nod, he immediately understood what they were about to head off and do. "Then let's get going. I'm just about finished, I'll meet you two at the front gate."

"Don't take too long, Kankuro. You know Gaara won't like waiting for you for something this important."

"I know Temari, relax. I'll be there real soon."

Naruto sat at his desk once again with piles of paper stacked all around him, they seemed to be taunting him. Groaning he leaned back into the comfy chair. "Do I really have to finish all of this? There's enough here that I could be doing this all day _and_ night!" That earned him a flick on the head by Suzume who stood ready to administer punishment again. "Please Suzume. Ever since I woke up this morning there has been nothing in my line of view beside you and these god awful white menaces!"

She rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "Really Naruto, can't you just try to at least finish one more pile before trying to weasel your way out of here? You've neglected your duties and this is what came as a result of that negligence. Man up and take responsiblity."

"Fine." He grumbled before tackling another set of papers with hands so ready to tear them to small pieces that he could throw out the window. How long would he have to endure the torture of paper cuts and cramped hands from writing so much? His eyes were already tired and irritated from reading the hard black ink pressed words that now they all looked to swirl and scramble together. From the brightness outside, he could only guess that it was just a little past noon yet his body kept whining for sleep. "I can't do this," was his comment before slamming his head down on the hard wood desk.

Suzume managed to stop the paper avalanche that would have taken place had it not been for her quick reflexes. Sighing in defeat she opened her mouth when someone knocked on the door, thank goodness. "Come in." She called.

In came one of the guards of the Eastern Gate facing the mainland. He wore the standard forehead protector of the country, the Uzumaki clan symbol, and the red and white ninja outfit. "Uzukage-sama, the Kazekage and his entourage are here wishing to inform you of urgent news. Shall I let them in?"

"Of course, they are our friends and ally."

The guard bowed and walked back into the hallway, "The Uzukage will see you now, Kazekage-sama. I hope I have not delayed you."

Gaara replied, "No, it's alright." He walked into the room and Kankuro closed the door behind them. "Naruto, I have news that you need to listen closely to."

Raising an eyebrow, the blonde was curious. Usually the two would converse a little longer before getting right into official reports and such between themselves. This seemed out of character compared to the usual Gaara who visited every so often. "Take a seat first, you must be tired then you can tell me what the news is."

Sitting down with Temari and Kankuro standing right behind where their leader and brother sat, Gaara looked straight into the sea blue eyes that were so familiar to him. "It's Konoha. Thanks to Tsunade-sama still being in a comatose state, the two elders, Koharu and Homura have taken it upon themselves to direct the village in her stead. They had called a summit meeting between the five kages to inform us of Uzushiogakure."

"Did you reveal to them that you are already allied to us?"

"No, I thought it would be best to keep that piece of information a secret, it would only entice them more to advocate for themselves their so called early justice. But that is beside the point. Konoha has been put under orders to send the best of their men here."

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto asked, "To do what exactly? They have already been here and witness our lives. We have shown them no evidence of hoping to create a war among any of the other nations." Suzume couldn't help but agree.

Gaara only stared at his friend. "Yes but they do not want to take chances." Taking a deep breath, he said the words Naruto would spend sleepless nights agonizing over. "Konoha is on the move to destroy Uzushiogakure and all who reside in it."

Suzume gasped, "How could they do such a thing?!" Her voice reached the point of screaming as the others flinched at her volume. "If they think committing such an act of violence will be our downfall then they have another thing coming at them. We may be a small village but that does not mean we are so weak to be taken down easily." She was fuming with hands clenched tightly at her sides. "They won't get anywhere near here if I and the others have anything to say about that, right, Naruto?"

He nodded, "Konoha will not be successful in this little assault." Pounding his hands down and once again shaking the piles of paper, he stood up from his chair with a fire of determination flaring in his eyes. "Suzume, summon the rest of the Tide ninjas in front along with the civilians. We are having a mandatory assembly."

"Right."

"And Gaara," the red head looked at Naruto, "When are they coming?"

"In five days." His voice was monotone.

A sly smile plastered itself onto Naruto's face, a prankster's smile that held all the mischievious ambitions and child like thinking crossed with that of someone who had fought to hell and back. "Perfect. We'll show them then just how threatening we can be, if that's what they see us as. I am the Uzukage of this land and I won't let anyone, not even a former village, destroy my home and family."

Gaara stood up and crossed the few feet sepearting him and Naruto. "And I shall fight alongside you, as well as Temari and Kankuro. You will not have enough men ready by then with weapons to fend yourself against Konoha. They are a part of the five great nations for a reason."

The two exchanged a look before Naruto burst out laughing. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Gaara. Thanks."

"It is my pleasure. To help a friend in need, especially you Naruto, would be a great honor. Plus, I want to see the shocked faces of those two elders when they figure out that I choose you over them." He also wore a smile but smaller and more closed off. The Kazekage was determined to not allow any harm to come to his friend nor the village he would be willing to protect with all of himself.

_Flashback- The Assembly_

Naruto's POV

A massive crowd stood a couple levels down from where I was. I was really glad that I had managed to sneak in the plan for adding a small balcony right outside of my office. At first I just wanted it to use as somewhere to escape Suzume or Fumio's constant badgering but now it held another purpose. Here I could watch over and sometimes talk to those inside my village. I loved being able to watch the lives continue on through the streets and stores.

The voices rose and fell like waves. Children were busy weaving through adult legs playing ninja tag. Makio stood trying to corral her students into her line of sight but kept having to yell when one or two managed to escape for a second. I couldn't help but chuckle. This is what Konoha hopes to destroy? Not just a village but a group of people who finally got the chance to start fresh. I won't let them.

I looked at Hitsohi and he nodded once before using his fingers to whistle. That brought a hush on the crowd as they looked at me. No one else but Suzume, Nabuo, Hitoshi, and Fumio, aside from Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and myself, knew of the news.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your attention please!" No one spoke, even the smallest of babies quieted themselves in their mothers' arms. "Thank you. Now you must all be wondering why I called this meeting into order. I don't want to alarm any of you but the Kazekage has been kind enough to tell me an important piece of information that affects us all here. I have made orders to all available Tide ninjas to stay vigilant for Konoha. They have come to the decision that we are too big of a threat to their lives and village. I am also orderig a level three evacuation into the lower bunkers of the village for all civilians."

Shouts of shock exploded in the crowd. No one could believe the news. Konoha was to attack them? Children clung more tightly to their mothers and fathers as things got more intense. How was Uzushiogakure supposed to fair against Konoha, a member of the Five Great Nations?

"Do not worry. My men and I will swiftly put this battle to an end. We do not seek bloodshed or wish to dirty our hands with the lives of others who only seek to protect what is important to them. I personally guarentee every single one of you that those you love that will be fighting alongside me will face no immediate danger. I am the Uzukage and I will not allow any casualties on our side to happen. I swear."

Konoha chose to have two offensive points, the sea and sky, seeing as those were the only two access points of Uzushiogakure. Kakashi, Shikaku, and Shikamaru stood in the office of the Hokage planning the most effective routes onto a map. Each point would be crucial to the smooth running of the mission.

"We cannot seem too obvious or in a rush. The ships would take too long going onto the banks of their land. Plus, we won't know if they will even let us on if they can sense the amount of people already on board the ship." Kakashi observed.

Shikaku stroaked his beard. "We will just have to find a way to mask our chakra signatures enough to blend in." Turning to his son, the older man sighed. "Shikamaru, go an prepare everything. We are leaving in two days."

Thinking the task to be a drag, Shikamaru lazily exited the room, hands slack in his pant pockets. Once outside into the light of the day he headed off to his friends scattered all over the village. Maybe by telling them he could somehow con them into spreading the information instead of him. With that well thought idea still being perfected in his head, Shikamaru walked the streets of Konoha, taking his time.

_Two Days Later_

Naruto's POV

I stood ready, my haori fit loosely onto my shoulders. I knew that once the battle started I wouldn't have time to waste worrying about getting the thing dirty. Tightening the forehead protector I looked out over my village from the top of the central building. All the streets and homes had been evacuated earlier this morning. Makio and her squad were to ensure the safety of the citizens.

Assigning each person their rolls I gave Hitsohi command of the squads responsible for attacks within and surrounding the village. Suzume would be in charge of relaying information and sensory, think of her as our second pair of eyes in the darkness. Fumio would be taking charge of the medical department while Nobuo took the sea.

My main goal was to detain as many of the coming ships as I could while still being able to watch for aerial assault.

"We're ready, Uzukage-sama." One of my men stood positioned at my door, standing tall and rigid. "Everyone is positioned in their posts. Lord Kazekage and his members are staying to defend the interior of the village."

"Good, thank you for telling me that. I will be out in just a while."

"Yes sir." He walked away into the street right below couble checking his surroundings.

I continued to stare out into that wide open blue and I felt that it was the eyes of my dad, staring down at me. Whether he was proud of me or not I couldn't say. I'd ran from my village even though I was innocent, I abandoned the place he died protecting, and I didn't feel guilty. What kind of son am I?

I felt annoyed now and ruffled my hair with my hands. "Get a grip Naruto. This is something that needs to be done. Uzushiogakure won't be destroyed another time. Never." Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves I picked up the white fox mask off the table. Staring down at it, it still gave me the chills. "I'll conquer my own demons, I'm not that same weak kid I was all those years ago and I never will be him again." Slipping the mask onto my face I felt a new kind of confidence wash over me. "Konoha is going down."

Suzume's sparrow chirped at the window, tapping its beak against the glass telling me that the enemy was close enough to be seen from the shores. When I gave it a nod, he flew away. I followed after him. Sure exposing to the enemy that we already knew their plans is a bad idea but letting them act all high and mighty thinking we were defenseless is even more bad.

Landing on the forest floor I whistled out and heard a whistle back in reply. Nobuo broke through the tree line. "They're almost here. Another three minutes and they'll be landing on our banks. Are you sure we should even be letting them through the pools?"

"Yes, we don't need to prolong this. Finishing them off quickly will be the best thing to do. Just make sure that if they try to attack that you'll have that jutsu ready to put them back in their place."

Nobuo laughed. "I will, they won't be pulling anything on us. I have faith in you Naruto that you won't do anything to them."

Confused, I asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that when you see them all, there won't be a shred of doubt in you to fight against them." He turned serious. "We are counting on you to lead us. If our leader shows even a slight chance of wavering then it'll be the end. Uzushiogakure will be destroyed and the lives we have all made here will disappear. There will be nothing left but bitter memories."

"I'm not going to crack. I swear."

"You better not." Turning around he started to walk off but not without a final comment. "You're the only thing keeping any of us from running away from all of this, just keep that in mind when everything around here goes to hell."

Nobuo left me there with those words echoing in my head. I had enough pressure as it was but he just needed to pile it on even thicker. Sighing I followed after him with the sound of crashing waves growing louder and louder with every step I took. I knew my body was prepared for the fight but my mind still lingered on the border. No, I will stand by my people. This place has been more of a home this past year than konoha had been for all those other years since my birth. Backing out now would not only destroy me but everyone else that called this island home.

"They have arrived on the edge of the whirlppols, Uzukage-sama. Shall we allow them entrance?"

I spared no glance at the ninja who stood a little behind me as my eyes kept staring holes into the Konoha ship. There were several chakra figures aboard but that was a complete ruse. There were more hidden away, blending in with the chakras of the others, masking themselves away to evade us. "Yes." I replied. That one word marked the beginning.

The waves were calmed and as the boats were lifted up by water and gently set to the ground Kakashi stepped off the vessel. As the others grew more tense I stayed calm and neutral about the situation. My former sensei walked closer and closer towards me, each step calculated and measured. He meant business today.

"Kakashi Hatake, to what pleasure do I owe this unexpected visit. Do you Leaf favor such surprising entrances into the Land of Whirlpools?"

The silver haired man made no move to show his repsect towards me and it made me a little irritated. "Lord Uzukage, we are here under orders to seize all members of Uzushiogakure and ensure the destruction of the village. Surrender your title and order your men to lower their weapons."

I chuckled lightly. "And why would I ever do such things?"

"You pose a threat to the peace of the other nations. This land and its people are a danger. Konoha has taken it upon themselves to eradicate the danger before chaos begins to settle."

As he continued to speak I noticed the other passengers of the 10 boats docked emerge. There were many faces I recognized: Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, Neji. All of them were people I once had bonds and connections with in some messed up way. Now they stood before me as Chuunin or even higher ranked waiting to destroy the peace I had created on my own clan's land. Even Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai stood ready to strike us down.

Sighing, I held up hand, palm facing towards them. "I was hoping, truly hoping, things would not end like this for us. Our two villages could have been such good allies." I closed my hand into a tight fist. The signal for attack had been shown. "But Konoha has crossed the line in threatening us and now, you must pay the price for such actions."

Tide ninjas body-flickered to my sides and the battle commenced. I was left to deal with Kakashi as we both sized each other up. There were grunts of pain and the sounds of metal hitting metal as kunais and shurkien were thrown through the air. Blood spattered to the ground resembling what an artist would do to their paintings. The crashing of the waves played in the background as bodies fell to the ground, some not moving while others struggled for stability in all the chaos surrounding us.

"Do you really think you can beat me, Kakashi Hatake? You may be known as the copy nin but I am a kage. My power far outweighs you, more than you could ever imagine." My comments had no effect on the man as we kept exchanging blows. Kicks and punches from either side were easily blocked. When I managed to land a single scratch on his face, I couldn't help but smile in triumph underneath my mask. "Is this really all that you are made of? I expected more from someone so highly valued by the Hokage and her village. Pathetic."

That seemed to hit a nerve as he, without thinking, launched himself forward. Perfect, so mentioning the hokage or the village can get him riled up enough to get a clean hit. Managing to sdiestep, I brought my foot up and kicked down with my heel onto the small of his back. With a great slam his body landed to the ground where it cracked slightly from the force of the impact.

"Like I said, pathetic."

There was a rumble under my feet as my eyes grew wide in surprise. Kakashi appeared from under the surface of the earth and punched straight up, managing to snap my head back when he hit my chin. Staggering back, I held my chin.

"Who did you call pathetic?"

"But...how?"

His eye curved meaning to say that he was smiling. "I managed to trick you into thinking the body you hit was actually mine when it was only a log. Then in all the dust that followed after your brutal attack I dug my way underground to attack you when you were least expecting it." I glared at him through the eye slits. "Don't think that simple words like yours will make me do something foolish like attack you straight on. I've got enough experience to know how to keep a level head."

A crack formed on the left cheek of my mask. No, his last punch did this. If he is allowed to land any more hits he could break this and see my true face. But I can't run away from this, it would make me look like a coward.

"Let's finish this, Uzukage."

"Fine, Kakashi Hatake."

We took a step at each other before performing our jutsus.


	16. Chapter 15

Naruto's POV

I landed on my feet and skidded back a few feet. There were cuts and bruises all over my body but I didn't bother to pay attention to those. All my focus centered on Kakashi. He too was in the same physical pain as me. Neither one of us had drawn out our most powerful jutsus.

Kakashi was only testing out my strength, seeing how far I would go to end this. Using rasengan would be suicidal in terms of him being able to deduce who I am under this mask. Going into Sage mode would be a dead giveaway too. Performing with the help of the kyuubi's chakra shouldn't even be an option right now. My jutsu list was getting smaller and smaller. Creating shadow clones... It could be possible if I come up with a lie that seems believable enough.

"Kagebunshin no jutsu!" There were two puffs of smoke as my clones, wearing identical masks to mine, appeared. "I am ending this Kakashi, we've gone too long. I have a village and people to protect." My clones and I went from all angles. Fists flew and with every blow Kakashi got from one direction, another clone was there to punch him back.

When the flurry was finished and silence was the only conscious company left between us, I looked out over the rest of the battlefield. Every person had stopped to watch stupefied at what they had witnessed. The great Copy Nin Kakashi Hatake had been taken down without even having a chance to retaliate. I smirked. Fear of things more powerful than you could do miracles.

"If you Konoha nins know what is good for you and don't want to end up in a much worse shape than this man," I pointed down at his body, "I suggest you board those ships and stay there nice and quiet." In a mad scramble they did as told. They knew that I would finish them in seconds if it only took a few minutes with Kakashi. "The rest of you, take care of the injured and report them to Fumio's men. And if you see anymore Leaf nin, take them back to their ships by any force so long as they are alive."

"Yes Uzukage-sama."

Turning to the direction of the village I bent my knees a bit before propelling myself forward through the trees. Breaking through the green I landed on top of the archway of the village entrance. Things were quiet no sign of enemy intrusion to be seen. Creepy. From all the action that I came from to return to this. Something wasn't right and it may seem cliché saying that but there is something I am missing. "Where are the guards?"

I heard an almost inaudible whisper; Jerking my head to the left I narrowed my eyes. "Show yourself." My voice was a hiss. When no one came out I jumped down right in front of the source of the noise. "Don't make me get you myself." My shadow fell over the bush, menacingly demanding.

A pair of hands coated in blue chakra struck out. With quick reflexes I jumped back and hopped a bit before stopping. Neji Hyuuga and Lee appeared in front of me. Neither had changed over the year. Neji was still the same with a wise air far older than himself. Lee kept the bowl cut hair and the same get up as his sensei. It amazed me how easily they stayed themselves after everything that had happened before my escape.

"Uzukage, we have been ordered for your capture. You have dealt crimes outside of these lands that must be paid for." Good old Neji, right to the point. "Come with us peacefully and things will not need to resort violently."

"And if I refuse?"

Lee took his stance. "Then we will be forced to take you back. The spirit of youth burns deeply in me, you will not be able to escape me." That reference to youth was really starting to annoy me. Why did he, out of all the senseis, choose Gai as his role model? "I shall beat you in the honor of all youth! Come my eternal rival, let us bring justice!"

I scoffed when he used the word justice. "Justice, what justice? Do you call attacking a village and attempting to take its citizens justice?"

"We have been informed by Homura-sama and Koharu-sama that Uzushiogakure has been planning the downfall of not only Konoha but of all the five elemental nations. It is our duty to stop all activities pertaining to such an act." It was Neji who told me all that I needed to know. Those old crones were going to get it.

"So destroying lives is how you will accomplish this task?" They nodded. My temper flared. "I won't let you do such a thing. I will kill you if you dare to lay one hand on any of my people." With that I flickered in between them catching them by surprise. I hit them both in the stomach with my fists coated in chakra, similar to Neji, and then bashed their heads together. I left their bodies on the ground, blood dripping from their mouths and noses. "Don't mess with me."

I made my rounds finding that most of the invading nins were taken care of swiftly. Neither side suffered any losses, just injuries. I ordered that the Leaf nins were to be put back onto their ships and personally escorted back to the Land of Fire. Hitoshi had objected to my order but I quickly made him see reason. By having being present at the village in front of everyone it put just a little more of a fear into their hearts of not messing with us again in the near or distant future. They needed to understand we mean business.

Of course I didn't leave without my two closest advisors and friends, Nobuo and Suzume. Fumio and Hitoshi were left in charge but I made sure that Makio was there to instill some discipline in the pair if things got too crazy. Laughing onto the ship we set sail for the main continent. It only took approximately three hours to arrive onto the port. I kept my fox mask and the others wore masks too, the original white ones we had traveled with not so long before.

"I'm going to need to seal them in the scrolls. Running with all their bodies would take hours on end." The other two nodded. "Stand back." I opened several scrolls, each a dark green with symbols strewn all over the inside. Biting my thumb blood trickled out. I slammed my hand down on each scroll and the bodies disappeared into their respective spaces. "Done."

"Are you sure we should even be doing something like this? It's just the three of us and despite how strong we are, we can't face a whole village."

I turned my head to Suzume while I rolled the scrolls and handed them to Nobuo. "Calm down Suzume. If they are so stupid to attack us then we'll just have to defend ourselves. We aren't going to back down if they challenge us." She said nothing. "Now let's go, we're losing daylight and I don't want to be traveling in the dark."

Konoha's streets began to grow emptier and emptier as the sun sank in the western horizon. Homura and Koharu were busy in the Hokage's office worrying about the outcome of the mission. It had been nearly ten hours since the boats had left port for the island. There was no progress report sent within the time span. Had they failed?

Meanwhile, Shizune and young Sakura were busy attending to Tsunade as she still lay in a comatose state. The doctors had not been able to find a cause for the sleep since there were no traces of any sleep inducing medicines or poisons anywhere in the kage's body. Shizune and Sakura had worked day and night since the incident trying to find some lead or clue as to the reason for their teacher's condition. Sadly there were no scrolls or highly experienced medical persons who could even categorize Tsunade.

Gently holding her left hand, Sakura put her forehead onto her teacher's pale hand. Thankfully the jutsu keeping Tsunade young was still active. "Please wake up, Tsunade-sama. The village is not the same without you. Homura-san and Koharu-san are becoming more and more difficult to handle." Tears pricked at her eyes. "Please, we need you."

Neither girls noticed it but a slight twitch of Tsunade's finger was the only indication of her having heard the desperate voice of Sakura. Deep down in her consciouness under the heavy feeling of needing more sleep, Tsunade screamed out but could only feel the deafening darkness surrounding her. "I have to wake up, Konoha needs me, Sakura and Shizune need me, Naruto needs me."

Gently coaxing her fellow disciple up out of the chair Shizune could only hold back the tears threatening to fall. Her teacher would not like knowing that she had cried. "Come on Sakura. We should get going. I'm sure Lady Tsunade will wake up soon. She isn't a Sannin for nothing." Sakura bobbed her head once, never taking her eyes off the sleeping figure. "Lady Tsunade would want us to rest and regain our strength for tomorrow. The others will be returning from their mission and we need to be ready for anything."

"I understand."

They stood outside the archway into the village. It was nearly dark with the moon out and the sun barely peeking over the land. There were a handful of people still walking the dirt streets but most were on their way home. Guards stood ready to confront the three strange masked ninjas.

"Stop. State your name and business." One of the men ordered. He was tall and wore the Konoha head protector. He wore the usual green vest with black shirt and pants. His eyes were the same as Hinata and Neji Hyuuga, a white with dark pupils.

Suzume was the one to speak out and answer. "We are here to deliver an important package to the subsitute Hokages of this village. We are members of the Land of Whirlpools."

The man gawked. "Tide ninjas?" His eyes narrowed. "We will deliver the package to Homura-sama and Koharu-sama. There is no need for you to enter this village."

She scowled under the mask. Nobuo stepped forward, menacing and ready to knock them out. "Move, we don't need you dogs to do what we came here to do. And unless you want me to hurt you, you'd better move aside. These packages are leaving our hands until we see your elders. Understand?"

"Let's just calm down everyone." Naruto tried to take control of the issue, raising both his hands up. 'We want to ensure the safety of these packages but also to have a conversation with your two elders. There's no catch. We are here on peaceful and friendly terms despite what happened earlier today." The Hyuuga tried to make a rebuttle but Naruto continued on. "Now if you'd kindly escort us to the elders we'd appreciate it very much... And you can take your Anbu friends hiding in the shadows along with us too, if that will make you feel safer in our presence."

"Fine, follow us, but don't stray out of our sight or else the Anbu are free to do what they wish to you three."

"Thank you." Naruto replied, ignoring the threat that came along with the open invite. They all walked down the main road, keeping to the center. He could feel the eyes of onlookers through the windows staring at him. Despite being masked and wearing a red cloak, Naruto still felt exposed. There was no nervousness in him but a sense of foreboding. This meeting may just prove to be something that will bring about some unlucky outcomes.

Nobuo leaned in to Naruto with eyes still trained forward and whispered, "Are you sure about doing this?" The blonde nodded. He sighed, "Alright. I'm trusting you on this but you should know, Suzume and I both think that just giving them the scrolls and getting out of here would be the easier choice."

Smirking, Naruto answered back, "But taking the easier way out is no fun you know."

"Pff, the mind of a former prankster never does like to back down from a challenge, does he?"

"Never in a million years. Now get ready because you're going to want to kill something once we get into that office up there." Naruto pointed upwards with his eyes, willing Nobuo and Suzume to look in the same direction. "Once you meet those two old dinosaurs, you're self-control is going to be tested to the limit."

The two groaned earning them some questioning glances which were brushed off. Things were going to get interesting and if the feeling of foreboding weren't getting any stronger with every step forward, Naruto would actually be finding himself enjoying the moment.

Koharu gaped at the sight of them. The three members of Uzushiogakure stood right in front of their eyes, arms crossed. It was Homura who spoke out and broke the silence. "To what pleasure do we owe this visit, Uzukage-sama?"

"Cut the crap, we're here to deliver some lost dogs to this village and to get some reasons for attacking my village." The fox masked boy slammed his hands down on the desk. "And you better make those reasons damn good if you know what's good for you." Venom dripped off every word he said and the two elders shivered slightly.

"Give us those scrolls first." Koharu finally found her voice. She held out her hand. "We want to see the contents of them."

Naruto laughed, throwing his head back a little. "Isn't it obvious what's inside these?" He waved the green scrolls just out of reach of Koharu's wrinkled hands. "Think," he tapped them against his temple next, "What could be so important that we'd personally come here to give these back? Something neither one of you would want to lose any time soon, especially not to people as 'weak' as us."

"Let them go." The old woman had finally gotten the hint. She finally understood what had happened to the shinobi forces that had been sent to the Land of Whirlpools earlier that day.

"No, I won't be giving them that easily you know. I want something out of this little chat of ours. Something similar to a... compromise."

"Name the price."

Naruto smiled. "The lives of your shinobi for an alliance between Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure. There won't be any more animosities between our two people. We protect and help you and you do the same in return for us."

Homura asked, "And if we do not comply with your wishes? What will you do then?"

"An excellent question actually but something I'm hoping won't have to happen." Holding the scrolls to Suzume, she took them and held them a ways out from her body. "If you do not agree with my demands then this will be the outcome of your fellow Konoha nin." With a quick series of hand signals, Naruto produced a flame in the palm of his hand, only a small one. Holding it down underneath the scrolls smoke started to form.

"Stop!" Koharu screamed jolting up as fast as her old bones could let her. "We will form an alliance with Uzushiogakure, now release our men from your jutsu!"

"I am glad you see it our way, Koharu-san." Suzume with a slight nod from Naruto set the scrolls down on the desk top. His two companions flanked him on either side as Homura released everyone from within the green scrolls. Each body appeared in a puff of smoke, injured and groaning, but alive.

The Anbu carried each shinobi off to the hospital where Shizune, Sakura, and Ino along with the rest of the medical staff stood waiting. "Get each of them into a bed and room!"

"By the way, we may be able to help you with that sleeping Hokage of yours, as a part of our alliance of course."

Koharu sneered. "We don't need your help in waking our Hokage. Our medical specialist are practically finished creating a cure for her. Your assistance isn't necessary for us now, you'd only be wasting your time."

Nobuo snickered and earned himself a dirty look from the old bat. "Sorry but it's pretty obvious you guys aren't anywhere near discovering anything. We've been hearing what other people have been saying while on the way here. The Hokage is never going to wake up because no matter how hard all of you tried you just couldn't find anything."

"And you think you have the solution to our problem then?"

"Yeah, our village has some medicinal herbs that don't grow on this continent or any other unless in a remote region that most don't want to go through the problem of surviving."

Homura leaned into Koharu's ear, whispering things around the base of "accept" and "benefit". The old woman conceded under the logical reasoning of her team mate. Sighing, she begrudgingly took the offer with a bit of a frown on her face. "We will accept then since you seem to be so knowledgeable about what we are going through at the moment. The Anbu squad will escort you to the hospital and monitor you the whole time. Don't think of doing anything funny brat."

Crossing his heart and giving an innocent smile, Nobuo bowed sarcastically. "Oh thank you great elders." Naruto and Suzume couldn't help but think that the sneer on Koharu's face was going to stay permanent.

"I need you to grind up these flowers and herbs together, into fine powder. Got it?" Naruto stood back as he let Nobuo and Suzume take over the situation. The three had been taught the proper procedure by Fumio before they left the village. Apparently Fumio had gotten his hands on a couple of extremely rare scrolls with spots of blood dotting the pages which explains how he got them. One of the remedies included something explaining the symptoms of Tsunade. They didn't know if it would work but they thought it would be best to try it rather than not.

His blue eyes watched and took in all that was happening around him. Sakura was busy grinding the herbs together while Shizune made sure to prep the area. Neither one of them lost focus for even a second, working well together like water through a stream.

After an hour of utter chaos the medicine was given to Tsunade and within the next ten minutes, her eyes opened up for the first time in a year. There were sobs of joy erupting in the room that Naruto and the others felt a little awkward. When they tried to make their way out of the room and head home Sakura pulled them in for a group hug. The three foreign ninjas stiffened at the casual contact.

"You can let go of us now." Suzume gasped for air having ended up in the center of the huddle. She squirmed under the pressure. "I said you can let go of us now!"

The group hug ended after she yelled. "Sorry, it's just that, if you guys weren't here to give us the recipe and ingredients to wake up Lady Tsunade..." Sakura sniffled. "Just... thank you guys so much. We really appreciate what you've done for us."

"It's nothing; just don't have a group hug again as long as we're around."

Shizune laughed.

"No, seriously, I didn't enjoy it at all." Nobuo clamped his hand over Suzume's mouth before she could complain anymore. The girl could be so sweet and caring one second and mean the next. Dragging her back near the door the two struggled against each other, Suzume biting Nobuo's hand while he hissed threats into her ear and holding her down more.

"I apologize for their behavior. They don't go outside the village much." Naruto couldn't keep eye contact with his former team mate. It had been easier with Kakashi only because he was willing to kill his former student, whether he knew it was him or not. But with Sakura, Naruto didn't want to meet those green eyes. The girl had been his first love but that died out long ago when he realized it was futile. "We'll be taking our leave now. Tell your Hokage that we are happy for her return and that there will be some important information regarding our two villages waiting for her."

Then the most unexpected voice called out, "Wait!" Everyone turned to the source of the outburst with surprised eyes. Tsunade sat on her bed, healthy and glowing with power. "Who are you and what information are you referring to?" No one answered, only stared in amazement as if she had risen from the dead. "Answer me."

"Of course... Lady Tsunade." Naruto answered still shocked. "I will answer your questions to the best of my ability."

"Answer what I just asked then."

"I am the Uzukage of Uzushiogakure, guardian of the Land of Whirlpools. And the information I speak of is the alliance formed between our two villages. Homura-san and Koharu-san were kind enough to accept our offer."

Tsunade flared with anger. "How dare those two..." Taking in a deep calming breath she asked, "What is your name?"

Naruto froze for a bit before coolly answering, "I'm sorry but I cannot answer that question."

"To hell you can't, you will answer me or else this alliance of ours is terminated."

Nobuo's hand twitched to his kunai but Naruto held a hand up to stop him. "If my name is such an importance that you would be willing to throw away our agreement then so be it. I value my identity over this petty alliance any day." The two kages then went into a stare down as the air around them seemed to intensify with electricity.


	17. Chapter 16

Naruto's POV

We stood arguing back and forth for over an hour. Neither of us refused to budge on; Tsunade wanted to state that a term in the alliance would knowing my identity while I told her off by saying that the alliance should be terminated then. By the end we were both absolutely simmering in anger. Suzume had tried to find reasoning in my open stubbornness but refused to get between us knowing full well that all the pent up aggression would be pointed her way.

I sighed, "Why do you need to know so badly who I am? Isn't just having a peaceful relationship between our people satisfying enough for you?" The white hospital room seemed dark somehow. "There's no need to blow all of this our of proportion. Just accept this alliance and we'll be on our way, I won't show my face and you won't have to wonder anymore on who I am."

She glared at me menacingly. Her anger flowed off in waves that crashed all around us. "Tell me or so help me, I will pull myself out of this bed, attack you, and force you to tell me." The threat was real by looking at her hands clenching fistfuls of white blankets. I could tell that she was itching to punch me right in the jaw and I imagined what had happened to Ero-sennin when he peeped on her at the baths once... Imagining the damage he went through I don't think my body will be able to endure the force of a hit that powerful.

My resolve was breaking under the intensity of her gaze because no matter how much time passes and no matter how much I try to forget, I know what Tsunade is like when she doesn't get her way. "Fine... I give..." Nobuo and Suzume glanced at me with wide eyes that questioned my sanity. I shrugged at them, no point in prolonging this. The only way to snap that stubborn fifth hokage is to: one, tell her or two, go back home wrapped in bandages like a mummy. Both choices weren't very appealing. "But I will only tell you, no one else is to know or be present when I reveal myself, do you understand? And no speaking of it either. This is something you will take to the grave." She nodded, eyes intently staring at the mask that covered my face. "Tonight then."

We withdrew from the room as doctors and nurses filed in, evicting us from the premises with a stern look. Nobuo pulled me off to the side of the long hallway corridor staring straight at me. "Why?"

Of course that would be the first thing out of his mouth. Ruffling the back of my head with my right hand I stared at the space beside his face not wanting to look into the dark blue eyes. "It's the only way." That was it, a pathetic excuse that did not bide well with my close comrade. He was about to open his mouth when I stopped him short. "Look, can we just drop it, please? It's been a long day, a lot has happened, and I just want to rest for just a bit before I tell Tsunade..."

"Everything?"

"No, not everything though she probably will demand that information from me too."

"You'll stay strong, right? You won't break, right?" He bombarded me with question after question. Nobuo was the kind of person that when things really came down to it, got really serious and this is one of those moments. "Repeat after me Naruto," his voice was barely a whisper, "I won't crack under the pressure and spill out all the secrets."

I repeated the oath over and over again until Nobuo was satisfied. "Happy now? I won't be doing anything stupid...or stupider than usual. So let's get going before I collapse onto the ground from being so tired."

Later that day as the moon shined down on the peaceful village of Konoha I stood nervously in the Hokage's office. How long have I stood here waiting for her to be cleared from the hospital? Five minutes or maybe ten minutes? I groaned in boredom. There was no one else present in the room though I knew Anbu men were stationed right outside the door and windows. They were starting to get on my nerves. Apparently this little chat will not be as private as I demanded it to be. The clock on the wall read 11:42. Another groan made its way out of my mouth.

When I thought that I would spend another agonizing minute waiting the door swung open. Tsunade wore her usual green coat with a regal sort of air around her. She made eye contact with me before assuming her position behind her desk. Leaning back with hands folded and propped up on the desk top she raised an eyebrow. That was my cue, I guess.

"Before we start actually, can we please remove the Anbu forces? I don't want them listening or witnessing anything between us."

Tsunade stayed still for a moment, probably contemplating whether it would be a good move or not, but with a snap of her fingers the presences disappeared, unwillingly. "There, now we really are alone. So please, Uzukage-sama, tell me. Who are you?" The last three words were a hiss. Someone was still a little testy.

I smiled though she probably couldn't tell. "As always you really like to get straight to the point." When it seemed like her mood would not change, I cleared my throat. "Well... What I am about to show you must stay a secret. Think of it as part of the alliance deal. No one else is to hear about this, unless I allow it."

"Alright."

Gulping, I slowly lifted my hand to the fox mask. Removing it carefully the first thing I revealed was my mouth that had a nervous smile on it. Next were the cheeks and once I showed those, a gasp is what I heard from the old woman. Her hands covered her mouth to keep a scream from escaping. Knowing that if I stopped here she would kill me I continued. The only thing left was my eyes and hair, which I kept hidden under a black headband. When I finished removing everything I felt exposed as if the elements would kill me easily. "Hi...Tsunade-baa-chan."

She didn't move, didn't even make anymore sounds though she was still breathing. Her hands still covered her mouth but when I looked into those eyes, I saw two emotions- happiness and anger. Still she continued to stay silent but never looking away from my face with those eyes burning holes into me. But when words finally formed on her lips they were, "Why?" It wasn't the same why as Nobuo, the word seemed to be more vicious like a wild animal being held back by a single chain.

"Why what?" I was afraid of the answer, afraid of what it meant.

"Why did you do it?"

A nerve twinged and I felt the corner of my left eye twitch. "I didn't do anything." I replied, a little harshly. My mood had taken a full 180 turn. I no longer was happy and nervous, no, I was annoyed and angered. "How could you think I would do something like that?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and turned her head away from me. I felt dejected. Had she just rejected me? Had she just rejected the mere idea that I am innocent, that what had happened a year ago was not my doing but that of the Black Phoenix organization? She didn't turn back, only kept looking at the wall next to her as if trying to imagine the old me... The naive me... The weak me.

Tears stung my eyes but I refused to show them. My fists were clenched tightly to the point that I could feel my nails draw blood. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"No." She whispered and then her voice cracked saying, "You are a traitor."

"How dare you? I am not a traitor. I am innocent. I did nothing wrong but I was accused on insufficient pieces of evidence. There are plenty of shinobi out there that could use a jutsu to look and sound like me." I pointed a shaking finger out the window. "I didn't get a fair trial, no one listened to what I had to say. No matter how much I yelled, thrashed around, I was found guilty. They were going to condemn me to death but not without telling this whole village what I had not done." My face was red and I was huffing.

"Why should I believe you? I was there." Her dark eyes finally turned back to me. "I was the victim, you showed up in my office with a team of rogue shinobi. You attacked Shizune and I. You were the one that injured her, nearly killed her at that, then did the same to me. Shizune was out for a good month before she could even function normally. I was in a coma for a good year. Don't think I don't remember everything because I sure as hell do."

There was no yelling between us, just an intense conversation that barely went above a talking volume. "You've known me long enough, Tsunade-baa-"

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, you've known me long enough _Hokage-sama," _I emphasized the word, "To know that I would never do something like that. I considered you family so why would I hurt someone that I valued so much... How can you?"

"Monster." That one word ended it all.

I breathed in heavily trying to calm myself before something bad happened. "So that's it, that's the reason." I made my way to the door. "You're no worse than the rest of this god damn village. Consider the alliance deal off because I don't help or protect hypocrites or their village."

"Don't you dare walk out of this room Naruto." When she said my name I froze. "You will not threaten me with the treaty made between our two villages. That is the only thing keeping us from going to war with you. So stop being a child and act like a leader."

Twisting my head around I glared at her. "I am the one being a child? How dare you accuse me of doing something like that. Have you heard anything coming out of your mouth or even thought about it? Because I can tell you this, the only one being anything like a child is you." I jabbed a finger at her direction. "I am being realistic of all of this. No kage would want a treaty if it means being characterized by something they had no control over and for me, that's the Kyuubi. So don't think for one second that you are being the adult around here."

We both crossed our arms in defiance.

"We are not breaking this alliance."

"Why shouldn't I? Give me one good reason, a legitimate reason, for keeping this from turning into a blood bath?" I inquired.

"This is your home Naruto. I know that despite everything you have done so far you would never do anything to harm the people here." There was confidence in her tone that irritated me. Why was she so sure of herself that my feelings for this village are still the same after just a short but eventful year? Uzushiogakure will be more of a home than this place would ever be in a million life times. "And I know that even the acts in the not so distant past will one day be forgiven."

My eye twitched again. Raising my hands up in exasperation I finally gave up. "No, you know what. I would rather gouge out my own eyes and be set on fire than save this village."

Tsunade gasped at the comment.

"Uzushiogakure officially has nothing to do with Konohagakure. Any relations that we have now are worth nothing in our eyes. And if you want to go to war," I leaned in close, "Then war is exactly what you'll get because we aren't going to deal with any of your bull shit." Then I walked out the door, closing it with a quiet click. I could hear my name being screamed out but I paid no attention, as if I were anybody but myself.

* * *

POV Tsunade

I slumped back into my chair still repeating what had just happened into my head. Naruto... Of all the people it was him... Nothing stuck to my brain as I got up and paced the room. Not only had the alliance fallen into nothing but so had whatever thin string that connected Naruto and I together. The word I had called him kept bouncing off the inside of my head.

'Monster, Monster, Monster'

What had pushed me to utter out that one word that I knew would end it all? Had there been some sort of undetectable damage to my brain caused my thinking to swerve out of control? I looked out through the window at the sleeping village and leaned my forehead forward onto the cold glass. "What have I done?"

A knock brought me out of my dark thoughts. Shizune walked in with some warm tea looking a little apprehensive of asking what had happened behind the closed door. She set the tray down onto my table and stood back for a bit hands folded in front of her as she looked straight at me. I still remember the first day I had met the girl and of the days following that when I trained her to the best of my abilities. Every day had been a precious gift that helped to alleviate some of the sadness still clouding my present from the past. "Tsunade-sama... I know this may seem rude to ask but why did Naruto leave here in such a hurry?"

"He and I didn't exactly... see eye to eye, that's all I can tell you about it."

"I understand." Shizune pressed no harder for details knowing that I would not reveal anything. "Will you be having your tea now then? It is getting late and you have worked hard today, taking a break wouldn't be so bad."

We smiled at each other. "Thank you Shizune, you always know the right thing to do in these sort of situations." The rest of the night we sat together reminiscing about the past, of our adventures and occasional run ins with some very bitter men who had something against me. Every story we told made us fall into fits of laughter and that was how it went until there was no sound but our voices. It was as if the world had fallen asleep along with the rest of its inhabitants.

When the time came to go our separate ways home I couldn't help but look up at the waning moon. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day, just maybe there will come some good out of this whole mess that I had helped to create. My footsteps were carried away by the gentle wind as I made my way home to a bed that would offer comfort, if only for those few hours of sleep.

* * *

Konoha the next morning, was alive with gossip that streamed through the streets and into homes. Whispers met with whispers at every corner and doorway. The Uzukage had arrived late yesterday evening with the bodies of the leaf shinobis who had been sent to establish a "peaceful" agreement between the two villages. Of course no one except those of S-class knowledge knew the real reason. No one suspected that those select ninja were meant to be sent to create a massacre among innocent lives. No one suspected that it was a mere dozen or so Uzu ninjas who had defeated over fifty highly skilled leaf shinobi. Who could reveal such embarrassing information to the mass public who hailed their ninjas to be powerful enough to deal with such a young and weak village? Those who had partaken in the mission were to stay hospitalized for a minimum of two weeks while others who suffered more serious damage, such as Kakashi Hatake, were to be on bed rest for a good month.

That same morning Tsunade had marched straight into the council room and marched right up to the two elders who sat impassively. There were no words exchanged between the three but eye contact stated everything. Not only had the two done something extremely dangerous, they had also started a near war with a country still full of deadly secrets. Worst part was that the Hokage could not tell anyone of the Uzukage's identity without risking the alliance, or whatever was left of it to salvage. The three continued their silent bickering while the rest of the world went on peacefully.

Naruto had gone to Ichirakus to eat some bowls of their delicious ramen. This had been one part of his life in Konoha that he missed, the savory smell and taste of miso ramen had him drooling even before taking a seat. When Ayame walked up to him with a smile she nearly gasped at seeing that he wore a fox mask. That had been the same reaction that every other villager here had given the blonde who just sat there waiting to have his order taken.

"Wh...What can I get you, Uzukage-sama?" The ramen girl already heard the stories of the visiting kage earlier saying that he wore a white fox mask. Many considered that to be an omen that would ultimately give the village more trouble.

Showing two fingers he answered, "Two of your finest miso ramens, please." Naruto knew that despite how rude the reaction to his appearance was to him it was understandable at a tolerable level but that didn't mean his eye did not twitch a little. "I've heard around here that your father makes the best ramen in the country." He tried to make idle chit chat as Ayame informed her father of the order.

"Yes, we do." Her short reply did nothing to alleviate the awkward atmosphere but made it worse in comparison. "If...If you'll excuse me then, Uzukage-sama. I have to make a delivery. Thank you for choosing to dine here." She gave a bow before practically running out of the store with a large box wrapped in a white cloth in her left hand.

There was a deep throated laugh as Teuchi appeared with two steaming hot bowls of miso ramen. "Sorry about that girl, she is just a little jumpy this morning from all the rumors flying around here about you." Setting the white bowls down in front of Naruto the old man gave him the eye smile. "Majority of the folks around here don't have a real fondness of that fox mask you're wearing, brings back some dark memories that most of them don't really want to remember, makes this town just a little too gloomy."

Naruto chuckled. "The fox mask is the only issue then?"

Teuchi could see where the stranger was going at. "No, I guess the mask isn't the only thing they're trying to deal with." The old man leaned down on the counter as Naruto started to slurp the noodles and chug down the soup. "Another reason is that you supposedly brought back the bodies of our shinobi, dead and bloody, nearly unrecognizable." When he saw that Naruto made no budge at being surprised or anything he said, "There are a lot of people around here that want you dead though they can't do anything about it unless they want to die themselves."

"Do you think I killed your shinobi?"

"No," Dark eyes studied the mask and tried to imagine the face behind it. "I think you didn't do anything of the sort. You seem like someone that wouldn't do something cruel like that, especially to be the one to personally deliver them in that state."

"Thank you. I appreciate the fact that there's at least one person here that isn't about to right out judge me for something someone else overheard." Setting the last empty white bowl down on the counter, Naruto felt satisfied and full. "But I'm guessing you want some of those unanswered questions to be answered now, by me, the person who stands at the center of that tornado of mutating gossip?"

"If you want to."

Naruto knew the old man wouldn't want to press for information if the blonde didn't want to. That was one of the things that Naruto liked about Teuchi; a man that doesn't try to dig the facts out without the other party doing it willingly. "Alright, I'll tell you. First, I did bring back those shinobi who came to my village but none of them are dead, I made sure of that myself. Secondly, I would never kill a shinobi unless fully provoked and those men and women were only under orders from two people that didn't know what to think of us. And lastly, your ramen may be the most delicious of its kind in this whole world." The two laughed at the last statement. "Well, I better get going now, thanks for the food, Teuchi-oji san."

When the Uzukage left the shop, Teuchi turned around with the two empty bowls to wash when a sense of nostalgia hit him. "Teuchi...oji-san?" Whipping around he tried to catch the stranger before he left but was only left to look at the empty seat and entrance of his quiet little shop. Shaking his head to take the thought out of his mind, "Teuchi, you're getting real old to think something like that. Naruto's been gone for over a year, he wouldn't be foolish enough to try and come back here after what happened." But there was still that nagging feeling in the back of his mind that seemed to contradict the theory. "Where's Ayame? We have another delivery to make."

* * *

Passing by the old training ground Naruto couldn't help but stop and reminisce over the past. He knew that he could never fully sever ties with the village that had been his home for most of his life thus far and fighting what had happened before would only prove to be a fight he could never win. The familiar smells and sights pulled at old strings in the young man's heart. "It's been a while, huh?"

"Getting sentimental on me?"

A kunai landed at the blonde's feet with a white tag. There was a nearly silent sizzle before an explosion was set off.


End file.
